The empire of the Empire style was that of Napoleon, and the style was deliberately created to legitimize and glorify his rule. Sober forms drawn from Ancient Greece and Rome, and for the first time from Egypt, were enriched with gilding and sumptuous silks; new furniture shapes were invented. From its most lavish to its most austere, the Empire style influenced cultures as far removed as those of tsarist Russia and republican America. This volume shows both hidden treasures and key examples from the French imperial heartland - interiors, designs, furniture, porcelain and textiles.