EMPIRE STYLE, a term loosely describing the neo-classic style which developed in France during the consulate and em pire of Napoleon, spreading rapidly throughout Europe and even to America. It originated primarily in Napoleon's desire to re-cre ate the grandeur and luxury of imperial Rome. To this desire the spirit of the times was particularly congenial: scientific archae ology was beginning, knowledge of classic detail was increasing and the popular imagination was being fired by excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum. In addition to the purely Roman motives, certain Egyptian ideas, such as the sphinx, were adopted, due to Napoleon's Egyptian campaign. In architecture, the style is characterized by monumental grandeur and a close following of Roman precedent, as in the front of the Chamber of Deputies, Paris. In furniture, rectangularity, massiveness and a great use of bronze appliqué ornament are universal. Where curves occur they are large and swelling, as in the ends of the typical sofa of the period. The use of heavy textiles, frequently embroidered with Napoleon's monogram or the symbolic bees, was widespread. The style lasted in a modified form until about 1840. The later forms are unduly monotonous and heavy. (See MODERN ARCHI TECTURE.)