Classical Greek Seating
There is rare surviving furniture from ancient Greece, yet this classical style has informed design for centuries. Interiors of houses in antiquity were minimal, with much of a room’s color coming from frescoes on the walls and mosaics on the floors. Classical Greek furniture was sparing but finely crafted and influenced by Egyptian furniture design through Mediterranean trade.
Furnishings of the period were usually made from local wood like cypress, cedar, oak and willow from ancient Greece’s plentiful forests, although some pieces were carved from marble, such as a 300–200 B.C. throne with lion legs and a curved back now at the Getty Villa. Comfort and clean lines characterized designs during the Classical era, the symmetry and thoughtful proportions reflecting the architecture of Greek temples.
Some pieces of ancient Greek furniture were simple, rectangular platforms like the klinē, a multipurpose ancestor of today’s couches or daybeds that held cushions stuffed with wool, dry grass or down. These structures were used for both sleeping and dining, which wealthy Greeks did while reclining. At night, oil lamps illuminated rooms that frequently surrounded a garden courtyard.
Most of what scholars have learned about Greek furniture design owes to its representations in art like vases and stelae. The portable diphros stool, with its backless design and four turned legs, was one of the more common types of seating in daily Greek life — it appears as such for the gods on the Parthenon frieze. Stools without backs have been found in early Roman tombs, while benches were also common Greek seating furniture created for use in theaters. In houses of the Hellenistic period, benches seemingly functioned as tables, too.
Some designs evolved through adaptations by the Romans, including the klismos chair. After prominent archaeological excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum, the klismos chair — with its four saber legs and the elegant curves that define its back — was a source of inspiration for aesthetics in eras ranging from 18th-century neoclassicism to 20th-century Art Deco.
Find a collection of Classical Greek decorative objects, wall decorations and building and garden elements on 1stDibs.
Mid-20th Century European Classical Greek Seating
Wood
2010s Italian Classical Greek Seating
Concrete, Metal
Early 20th Century American Classical Greek Seating
Brass, Iron
Early 2000s American Classical Greek Seating
Stainless Steel
1880s Greek Antique Classical Greek Seating
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Classical Greek Seating
Iron
Late 20th Century Swedish Classical Greek Seating
Wood
1990s American Classical Greek Seating
Upholstery, Cherry
1960s Italian Vintage Classical Greek Seating
Wood
2010s Italian Classical Greek Seating
Concrete, Metal
2010s Italian Classical Greek Seating
Concrete, Metal
2010s Italian Classical Greek Seating
Concrete, Metal
2010s Italian Classical Greek Seating
Leather, Walnut
2010s Italian Classical Greek Seating
Concrete, Metal
2010s Italian Classical Greek Seating
Concrete, Metal
1960s American Vintage Classical Greek Seating
Aluminum
2010s Italian Classical Greek Seating
Leather, Wood
2010s Portuguese Classical Greek Seating
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Classical Greek Seating
Walnut
Mid-19th Century Chinese Antique Classical Greek Seating
Hardwood, Paint
1980s Vintage Classical Greek Seating
Wood, Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary British Classical Greek Seating
Brass
Early 2000s American Classical Greek Seating
Wood
20th Century English Classical Greek Seating
Upholstery, Beech, Oak
2010s Italian Classical Greek Seating
Leather, Cotton, Nutwood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary American Classical Greek Seating
Wood
2010s Thai Classical Greek Seating
Wood, Reclaimed Wood
Mid-20th Century Italian Classical Greek Seating
Leather, Wood
1950s American Vintage Classical Greek Seating
Fabric, Walnut
1970s English Vintage Classical Greek Seating
Velvet
Early 2000s Classical Greek Seating
Cherry
1960s French Vintage Classical Greek Seating
Fabric, Rattan
1830s American Antique Classical Greek Seating
Mahogany
19th Century European Antique Classical Greek Seating
Ormolu
21st Century and Contemporary American Classical Greek Seating
Leather, Lizard
20th Century American Classical Greek Seating
Mahogany, Upholstery
Mid-20th Century French Classical Greek Seating
Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Classical Greek Seating
Brass
19th Century American Antique Classical Greek Seating
Mahogany
1960s Greek Vintage Classical Greek Seating
Leather, Wood