Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
AESTHETIC MOVEMENT
In 1880, polymath designer William Morris declared: “If you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” His words encapsulated the Aesthetic Movement, which prized beauty above all and blurred the lines between fine art and the decorative arts, particularly through lavishly crafted furniture pieces.
The Aesthetic Movement, whose major proponents included author Oscar Wilde, flourished from the 1860s to the 1880s and was mostly popular in England and the United States. Design expositions like the 1876 Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia, as well as the publishing of how-to books for interior design, helped disseminate Aesthetic Movement bedroom furniture, serveware, coffee tables and other items, especially to the middle class.
The establishment of new art museums, art clubs and a rising passion for collecting at the time contributed to a growing appreciation for art. Morris’s founding of Morris & Co. in 1862 and the commercializing of this “cult of beauty” by the Liberty store in London, starting in the late 19th century, further disseminated the idea of a domestic space that was thoughtfully and floridly designed.
Leading Aesthetic Movement furniture designers included E.W. Godwin, who drew on Japanese influences and whose work reflected a wider enthusiasm for imported East Asian art. British designer Christopher Dresser created textiles, ceramics and more that were also inspired by Japanese decorative art but were representative of additional diverse design sources that ranged from Egypt to Mexico.
The Aesthetic Movement’s eclecticism resulted in dazzling interiors. Japanese fans were positioned on Renaissance-inspired cabinets with brass hardware, while mantels made of rich walnut or finely carved ebonized wood and adorned with painted Minton tiles mingled with cast-iron chairs against a backdrop of floral wallpaper. In 1881, in New York City, stenciled checkerboard motifs and painted floral murals could be found under an opalescent glass chandelier in a luxurious dressing room designed by German émigré cabinetmaker-decorator George Alfred Schastey. Amid the rise of the industrial age, the style’s promotion of art in everyday life would inform the Arts and Crafts Movement and Art Nouveau.
Find a collection of antique Aesthetic Movement seating, tables, decorative objects and other furniture and antiques on 1stDibs.
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Style: Aesthetic Movement
French Majolica Bird Plate Keller & Guerin Saint Clement circa 1900
Located in Austin, TX
French Majolica bird plate Keller & Guerin Saint Clement circa 1900.
Category
Early 1900s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic
French Majolica Bird Plate Keller & Guerin Saint Clement circa 1900
Located in Austin, TX
French Majolica bird plate Keller & Guerin Saint Clement circa 1900.
Category
Early 1900s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic
Mersad Berber 'Bosnia, 1940-2012' Oil on Canvas, Woman with Flowers
Located in Bridgeport, CT
Signed lower left. A lovely pensive woman dressed in 19th c. style holding flowers. She looks to the left with fruits in an abstract composition on a tab...
Category
20th Century Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Canvas, Wood
German Majolica Bird Plate, circa 1900
Located in Austin, TX
German Majolica Bird Plate, circa 1900.
Category
Early 1900s German Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic
French Brown Majolica Oyster Plate, circa 1890
Located in Austin, TX
Very rare French Majolica oyster plate, circa 1890.
White flower on the center and leaves.
Category
1890s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic, Faience, Majolica
German Majolica Swallows Plate, circa 1900
Located in Austin, TX
German majolica aqua plate with birds swallow and insect circa 1900.
Category
Early 1900s German Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic
Huichol Niereka Art Textile
Located in New York, NY
Mexican Huichol Niereka art textile depicting two figures, one with deer antlers shooting a bow and arrow at an anthropomorphic zoomorphic figure, housed ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Textile
Majolica Seaweeds Oyster Plate Keller and Guerin Saint Clement, circa 1890
Located in Austin, TX
Majolica oyster plate attributed to Keller Et Guerin Saint Clement, circa 1890.
Reference / page 98 "Collecting oyster plates" of Jeffrey B. Snyder.
Category
1890s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic, Faience, Majolica
Majolica Seaweeds Oyster Plate Keller and Guerin Saint Clement, circa 1890
Located in Austin, TX
Majolica oyster plate attributed to Keller Et Guerin Saint Clement, circa 1890.
Reference / page 98 "Collecting oyster plates" of Jeffrey B. Snyder.
Category
1890s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic, Faience, Majolica
Majolica Seaweeds Oyster Plate Keller and Guerin Saint Clement, circa 1890
Located in Austin, TX
Majolica oyster plate attributed to Keller Et Guerin Saint Clement, circa 1890.
Reference / page 98 "Collecting oyster plates" of Jeffrey B. Snyder.One small chip.
Category
1890s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic, Faience, Majolica
Burne Jones for Morris & Co Hand painted tile of Chaucer's legend of good wimmen
By Morris & Co.
Located in London, GB
Edward Burne Jones for Morris & Co, designed in 1861-1862. A rare hand-painted tile depicting Chaucer's Legend of Good Wimmen. The Fiberite packing we found inside the frame probably...
Category
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic
J P Hewitt. Aesthetic Movement circular plaque with a Pre-Raphaelite girls head.
Located in London, GB
J P Hewitt. An Aesthetic Movement circular plaque painted with a Pre-Raphaelite female head set in the original incised and ebonized period frame. Signed to the back.
Category
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic
19th Century Majolica Pink & Blue Oyster Plate Gien
By Gien
Located in Austin, TX
Rare 19th century Majolica oyster plate with pastels colors, shells and seaweeds signed Gien.
Category
1890s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Majolica Insect Wall Pocket Fives Lille, circa 1890
By Fives-Lille
Located in Austin, TX
Majolica insect wall pocket Fives Lille signed, circa 1890.
Category
1890s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic
Majolica Insect Wall Pocket Fives Lille, circa 1890
By Fives-Lille
Located in Austin, TX
Majolica insect wall pocket Fives Lille signed, circa 1890.
Category
1890s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic
Belgium Majolica Oyster Plate Wasmuel Circa 1890
Located in Austin, TX
Belgium Majolica oyster plate with pink flowers and green leaves Wasmuel, circa 1890.
Category
1890s Belgian Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic
Early 20th Century Marquetry Panel of a Terrace Scene by Pierre Rosenau
By Pierre Rosenau
Located in New York, NY
This early 20th century marquetry panel by Pierre Rosenau portrays a captivating classical scene of a terrace and garden set against the backdrop of an ...
Category
Early 20th Century French Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Wood
Pair Framed Silk Stevengraphs The Present Time & The Good Old Days
Located in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire
A fine pair framed silk Stevengraphs, one titled The Present Time and the other The Good Old Days, by Thomas Stevens and dating from 1875. The rectangular silk sewn panels portray t...
Category
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Silk
19th Century Majolica Oyster Plate Wasmuel
Located in Austin, TX
19th century Majolica oyster plate Wasmuel (Belgium) decorated with flowers.
Category
1880s Belgian Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic
French Majolica Oyster Plate Russian Imperial Eagle, circa 1890
Located in Austin, TX
French Majolica oyster plate called Russian imperial eagle, circa 1890.
Reference / page 132 "Oyster Plates" of Jeffrey B. Snyder.
Category
1890s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic, Faience, Majolica
19th Century Majolica Oyster Plate Wasmuel
Located in Austin, TX
19th century Majolica oyster plate Wasmuel (Belgium) decorated with flowers.
Category
1880s Belgian Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic
Square White Majolica Mermaid Wall Plate Circa 1920
Located in Austin, TX
Square Majolica mermaid plate with shells on the corners, the mermaid sit on a flying fish, the border is decorated with shrimps, circa 1920.
Category
1920s Belgian Vintage Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic
Russian Icon with Processional Cross 19th Century
Located in Brussels, Brussels
Very beautiful Russian icon with a processional cross in its center from the 17th century
We can see that the icon was created to accommodate the processional cross with the Chris...
Category
19th Century Belarusian Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Wood
19th Century Majolica Oyster Plate Wasmuel
Located in Austin, TX
19th century Majolica oyster plate Wasmuel (Belgium) decorated with flowers.
Category
1880s Belgian Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic
Porcelain Oyster Plate With Shells, circa 1900
Located in Austin, TX
Porcelain Oyster Plate With Shells, circa 1900.
Category
Early 1900s German Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Porcelain
French Majolica Oyster Plate Russian Imperial Eagle, circa 1890
Located in Austin, TX
French Majolica oyster plate called Russian imperial eagle, circa 1890.
Reference / page 132 "Oyster Plates" of Jeffrey B. Snyder.
Category
1890s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Majolica, Faience, Ceramic
Majolica Seaweeds Oyster Plate Keller and Guerin Saint Clement, circa 1890
Located in Austin, TX
Majolica oyster plate attributed to Keller Et Guerin Saint Clement, circa 1890.
Reference / page 98 "Collecting oyster plates" of Jeffrey B. Snyder.
Category
1890s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic, Faience, Majolica
19th Century Majolica Pink and Blue Oyster Plate Gien
By Gien
Located in Austin, TX
Rare 19th century Majolica oyster plate with pastels colors, shells and seaweeds signed Gien.
Category
1890s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Hermes Paris Silk Scarf with Carousel Horse Pattern
By Hermès
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A wonderful Hermes Paris silk scarf - the pattern is a vibrant palette of carousel horses - festive and ready for a spin!
Category
20th Century French Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Silk
19th Century Blue & White Daisy Platter Minton
By Minton
Located in Austin, TX
19th century blue & white daisy platter signed Minton.
Category
1890s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic
19th Century Majolica Oyster Plate Wasmuel
Located in Austin, TX
19th-Century Majolica oyster plate Wasmuel (Belgium) decorated with flowers.
Category
1880s Belgian Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic
French Majolica Bird Plate Keller & Guerin Saint Clement circa 1900
Located in Austin, TX
French Majolica bird plate Keller & Guerin Saint Clement circa 1900.
Category
Early 1900s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic
‘Wilde Trilogy’ Stained Glass Triptych By Tom Spencer
Located in Petworth, GB
Stained glass trilogy depicting Christ shining a torch after a quote from Oscar Wilde:
‘Religion is like blind man looking in a black room for a black cat that isn’t there and finding it’
This triptych has been re-worked using antique and stained and painted glass and framed in an antique gilded Gothic frame.
‘Wilde Trilogy’
By Tom Spencer...
Category
2010s English Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Stained Glass
Porcelain Oyster Plate with Seaweeds Limoges, circa 1900
By Limoges
Located in Austin, TX
French porcelain oyster plate with seaweeds Limoges, circa 1900.
Category
Early 1900s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Porcelain
Handwoven Telephone Wire Accent, Chameleon
Located in Jersey City, NJ
It is said that this stunning art form started with the African night shift security workers being bored on duty. They brought these weaving skills back to their villages and shared them with their wives, who have mastered them into today's sought-after pieces.
The weavers behind these objects started by applying traditional skills in creating baskets for household usage. Time has passed, and remarkable innovative methods were applied, giving the lampshades a contemporary edge. Today, these beautiful telephone...
Category
2010s South African Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Wire
Handwoven Telephone Wire Accent, Moutarde
Located in Jersey City, NJ
With a vibrant mix of modern touches, our handwoven telephone wire accent is the ultimate piece for an elegant yet creative design. The curated collecti...
Category
2010s South African Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Wire
French Trompe l’Oeil Majolica Glazed Cherry Branch Wall Plaque, signed F. Perrot
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A French Palissy majolica glazed hand painted wall plaque, signed by the artist, circa 1890-1900.
In the trompe l’oeil style of fool the eye, a dimensional mold showing a branching ...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Earthenware
French Majolica Oyster Plate Choisy-le-Roi, circa 1880
Located in Austin, TX
French Majolica oyster plate signed Hippolyte Boulenger Choisy-le-Roi. The six pink wells are surrounded by green seaweeds.
Category
1880s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic
Arts & Crafts Minton Pottery Tile Designed by Christopher Dresser
Located in Fort Lauderdale, FL
A Minton pottery tile designed by Christopher Dresser in 1873.
This tile, designed by Christopher Dresser and made in 1873, exemplifies the Aesthetic Movement ethos of the home as...
Category
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Earthenware
French Majolica Flower Tile, circa 1890
Located in Austin, TX
French Majolica flowers tile, circa 1890.
6' by 6".
Category
1890s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Faience
Catherine Vargas Doulton Lambeth Faience Hand Painted Framed Plaque, 1877
Located in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire
A stunning and unique hand painted framed porcelain tile in the aesthetic taste depicting a young girl seated on a grassy bank and holding a doll by renowned artist Catherine Vargas and dated 1877. Probably made at Doulton Lambeth Faience...
Category
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic
19th Century Majolica Pink and Blue Oyster Plate Gien
By Gien
Located in Austin, TX
Rare 19th century Majolica oyster plate with pastels colors, shells and seaweeds signed Gien.
Category
1890s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Large 19th Century Ceramic Plaque with Swallows & Flowers
Located in Austin, TX
Large 19th century ceramic plaque with birds & flowers.
Japonist period.
Possibly Sarreguemines unsigned.
Category
1890s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic
19th Century Majolica Pink and Blue Oyster Plate Gien
By Gien
Located in Austin, TX
Rare 19th century Majolica oyster plate with pastels colors, shells and seaweeds signed Gien.
Category
1890s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Majolica, Ceramic
Stained Glass Rectangular Wood Framed Window
Located in Guaynabo, PR
An old stained glass window designed as a bell shaped arc that is decorated in the center with a green leave wreath with flirtatious pink ribb...
Category
Late 19th Century Unknown Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Glass
French Set of 4 Majolica Flowers Tiles, circa 1890
Located in Austin, TX
French set of 4 Majolica flowers tile, circa 1890.
6' by 6" , The four tiles 12' by 12".
Category
1890s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Faience
English 19th Century Asparagus Wall Plate with Mums
Located in Austin, TX
19th century English Majolica shell-shaped asparagus plate decorated with mums flowers "William Alsager Adderley and Co" (1876 and 1885).
Category
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic
Rare French Majolica Butterfly Wall Pocket, circa 1880
Located in Austin, TX
Rare French Majolica butterfly wall pocket, circa 1880.
From North of France.
Category
1880s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic
Large English Bird Plate Mintons, circa 1900
By Minton
Located in Austin, TX
English blue bird plate in a landscape signed Mintons (mark 1873 to 1912).
Category
Early 1900s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic
Large English Bird Plate Mintons, circa 1900
By Minton
Located in Austin, TX
Large English blue bird plate in a landscape signed Mintons (mark 1873 to 1912).
Category
Early 1900s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic
19th Century Irish Wallpaper Panel framed in a Cornice Molding
By Interi
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
19th century Irish velvet flocked wallpaper from David Skinner's original period patterns archive of Irish historic wallpapers from Dublin, Ireland....
Category
19th Century Irish Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Gold Leaf
19th Century French Majolica Platter Bird and Flowers Longwy
Located in Austin, TX
Charming 19th century French majolica painted platter bird and white daisy and poppies signed Longwy.
Impressionist period.
Category
1890s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic
Pair 19th c. Wedgwood Aesthetic Movement Porcelain Plaques Thomas Allen
Located in Great Barrington, MA
This pair of unusual porcelain plaques depict two young women in period dress against gold background panels. The acid etched panels are decorated with an all-over Aesthetic Movement motif depicting peacock feathers and surrounded by sheaves of wheat. The painting of the women is finely done and very detailed in a thick enamelled application. One is playing with a stick-toy doll and the other with wheat and a toy broom.
Unsigned but attributed to Thomas Allen...
Category
19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Pair of 19th Century Hand-Painted Ceramic Plaques Seascapes 2-DM Birds
Located in Great Barrington, MA
This huge pair of "Barbotine" ceramic plaques have all the bells and whistles. Completely hand-painted with inviting seascapes, each one is surrounded with paste flowers and realisti...
Category
19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic, Porcelain
French Oyster Plate Porcelain with Turkey Pattern Haviland Limoges
By Limoges
Located in Austin, TX
Antique 19th-century French porcelain oyster plate with turkey pattern signed Limoges Haviland.
Category
1890s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Porcelain
French Oyster Plate Porcelain with Turkey Pattern Limoges
By Limoges
Located in Austin, TX
Antique 19th Century French porcelain oyster plate with the turkey pattern signed Limoges Haviland.
Category
1890s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Porcelain
19th Century Majolica Oyster Plate Wasmuel
Located in Austin, TX
19th century Majolica oyster plate Wasmuel (Belgium) decorated with flowers.
Category
1880s Belgian Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic
French Aqua Majolica Oyster Plate, circa 1890
Located in Austin, TX
Very rare French aqua Majolica oyster plate, circa 1890.
White flower on the center and leaves.
Category
1890s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Decorative Art
Materials
Ceramic, Faience, Majolica
Aesthetic Movement decorative art for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a broad range of unique Aesthetic Movement decorative art for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage decorative art created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include wall decorations, serveware, ceramics, silver and glass, building and garden elements and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with ceramic, earthenware and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Aesthetic Movement decorative art made in a specific country, there are Europe, France, and United Kingdom pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original decorative art, popular names associated with this style include Saint Clément, Wasmuel Majolica, Haviland & Co., and Gien. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for decorative art differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $180 and tops out at $16,034 while the average work can sell for $600.
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