Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The National Furniture is a French public institution heir to the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne, created in 1604 under Henri IV and reorganized by Colbert in 1663. Originally responsible for managing the furniture and tapestries of the royal residences, he became after the Revolution the National Warden-Meuble (1798), then the Imperial Furniture under Napoleon (1804). Its collections, dispersed after the fires of the Tuileries and Saint-Cloud in 1870, are grouped under the Third Republic under the current name.

In 1937, the institution moved to a modernist building designed by Auguste Perret on the former gardens of the Gobelins factory in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. This site has been central since the missions of conservation, restoration and loan of furniture for public institutions (presidential palaces, ministries, embassies). The National Furniture also includes prestigious manufactures: Gobelins (1937), Beauvais (1935), Savonnerie (1937), and the Lace workshops of Puy-en-Velay and d'Alençon (1976).

Its missions, defined by decree in 1980, include the management of more than 200,000 objects (75,000 of which are of heritage value), restoration through seven specialized workshops (tapisserie, cabinetmaking, etc.), and cultural mediation. Since 2025, it has merged with the City of Ceramics of Sèvres to form a new public establishment. The building, classified in 1965 for its facades and roofs, illustrates the alliance of classicism and functionalism in reinforced concrete.

The National Furniture has experienced crises, such as the disappearance of 17,000 coins in 2007, revealed by a renovation. His notable directors include Gideon Berbier du Mets (17th century), whose name was given to the street hosting the current headquarters, or Hervé Lemoine, director since 2018. The Atelier de Recherche et de Création (ARC), founded in 1964 by André Malraux, strengthens its role in artistic innovation.

Today, the National Furniture remains a key player in French heritage, combining historical preservation and support for contemporary creation. Its seat, placed in Homage-aux-Femmes-Victimes-de-Violences, also symbolizes its anchoring in the district of Croulebarbe, near the Gobelins factory, with which it maintains historical and functional ties.

Future

The National Furniture is a service of French national competence on which the Manufacture des Gobelins, the Manufacture de Beauvais, the Manufacture de la Savonnerie in Paris and Lodève and the National Lace Workshops of Puy and Alençon depend.

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