SHOWCASE 42. FRENCH SILVER OF EMPIRE STYLE

The beginning of the 19th century witnessed a remarkable heyday of applied art in France, caused by the luxury of Napoleon's court. Napoleon, crowned as Emperor of France in 1804, revived the style and grandeur of jewellery and fashion in France. Articles represented in the showcase, executed in Empire style, reveal the passion to antique style, Greece and Roman motifs at the beginning of the century.

The Armoury possesses several items by Jean-Baptiste Odiot and Martin Guillaume Biennais, who worked in the so-called Empire style, characterized by dense gilding, perfectly polished surface and a matt applied ornament of classical figures, vases, wreaths and lyres. Their works were highly valued in Russia and purchased in large quantity.