Classical Greek Urns
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.
Late 19th Century Greek Antique Classical Greek Urns
Clay, Terracotta
1870s French Antique Classical Greek Urns
Bronze
Early 1900s Antique Classical Greek Urns
Iron
19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Urns
Marble, Ormolu
20th Century European Classical Greek Urns
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Classical Greek Urns
Bronze
Late 19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Urns
Bronze
20th Century British Classical Greek Urns
Stone
Mid-20th Century Italian Classical Greek Urns
Glass
1930s Unknown Vintage Classical Greek Urns
Bronze
1920s French Vintage Classical Greek Urns
Marble, Spelter
Early 20th Century Greek Classical Greek Urns
Terracotta
Late 19th Century American Antique Classical Greek Urns
Terracotta
Late 19th Century American Antique Classical Greek Urns
Iron
Mid-20th Century Greek Classical Greek Urns
Terracotta
1980s Vintage Classical Greek Urns
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Classical Greek Urns
Bronze
19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Urns
Bronze, Ormolu
19th Century Italian Antique Classical Greek Urns
Marble
19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Urns
Ormolu
19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Urns
Siena Marble, Ormolu
Mid-20th Century French Classical Greek Urns
Iron
1920s Swedish Vintage Classical Greek Urns
Iron
Early 20th Century English Classical Greek Urns
Terracotta
19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Urns
Iron
Late 19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Urns
Ormolu, Bronze
Late 19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Urns
Onyx, Bronze
Mid-20th Century Greek Classical Greek Urns
Terracotta
Late 20th Century North American Classical Greek Urns
Marble
19th Century English Antique Classical Greek Urns
Porcelain, Paint
20th Century Classical Greek Urns
Iron
Late 19th Century Austrian Antique Classical Greek Urns
Enamel
1870s French Antique Classical Greek Urns
Silver
20th Century Baltic Classical Greek Urns
Marble
20th Century American Classical Greek Urns
Iron
Early 20th Century Classical Greek Urns
Shell, Porcelain
Late 19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Urns
Ceramic, Porcelain
1910s Vintage Classical Greek Urns
Bronze
Early 20th Century Greek Classical Greek Urns
Terracotta