The beginning of the XIXth century witnessed a remarkable flowering of applied arts in France, caused by the luxury of Napoleon's court. Napoleon, crowned as Emperor of the French 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 the Empire style, characterised by dense gilding, a perfectly polished surface and a matt applied ornament of classical figures, vases, wreath and lyres. Their articles were valued highly in Russia and purchased in large quantities.
