Napoleon adopted the same policy in the Netherlands as elsewhere by installing, in 1805, a member of his family as king - in this case, his brother Louis, who took the job seriously, tried to protect the country's interests and was forced to abdicate in 1810. There was barely time for him to get the old Town Hall in Amsterdam refurbished in 1808-09 with large quantities of handmade furniture in the Empire style, much of which is still on view there.
Some of it was made in Paris and taken to Holland, but most was produced locally and, although conforming in broad terms to the international Empire style, a distinct Dutch accent can be detected in the sturdiness of construction and the attention to detail of pieces made by Carel Breytspraak, who had become a master of the St Joseph's Guild in 1795. The commode he supplied for the apartments of the Crown Prince in 1809 has panelled ends and a moulding around the edges of the drawer-fronts - both features being a little reminiscent of traditional Netherlands fitted and non fitted furniture dating back to the 17th century. Breytspraak, who was of German descent, died the following year. A supplier of seat furniture for the Napoleonic royal family was Joseph Cuel, he is described as an upholsterer and may have ordered the frames from a number of joiners as the quantity he had to supply in a short time was a large one.
After the Napoleonic are, the Empire style was continued during the reign of William I, for whom the Royal Palace at the Hague was largely refurnished in 1818. A local cabinet-maker, G. Nordanus, supplied a variety of pieces in mahogany. For the general public, many pieces were made at this time with severe carcase shapes in the Empire style, but lavishly decorated with the traditional floral marquetry. Tall chests of drawers flanked by columns, and with the top drawer projecting slightly, were especially popular. Sabre-legged chairs of simple shapes with flat rails to the backs, of the kind decorated with brass inlay in England, were often embellished with flower arrangements in contrasting woods.
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