Aesthetic Movement Vases
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.
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Earthenware
1890s British Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Enamel, Gold
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Porcelain
1970s French Vintage Aesthetic Movement Vases
Ceramic
Early 20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Vases
Silver
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Porcelain
1880s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Pottery
1870s Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Opaline Glass
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Stoneware
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Stoneware
19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Porcelain, Paint
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Stoneware
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Enamel
1890s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Bronze
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Stoneware
1870s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Opaline Glass
1930s Belgian Vintage Aesthetic Movement Vases
Crystal
1870s British Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Stoneware
1890s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Terracotta
Late 19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Art Glass
Mid-19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Ironstone
1890s British Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century English Aesthetic Movement Vases
Silver Plate
20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Vases
Glass
Early 1900s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Porcelain
19th Century Danish Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Porcelain
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Stoneware
1880s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Ceramic, Majolica
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Stoneware
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Stoneware
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Stoneware
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Stoneware
Late 19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Earthenware
Early 1900s Japanese Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Bronze, Enamel
1940s Italian Vintage Aesthetic Movement Vases
Blown Glass
Late 19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Earthenware
Early 20th Century English Aesthetic Movement Vases
Pottery
Late 19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Bronze
1880s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Porcelain
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Stoneware
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Aesthetic Movement Vases
Giltwood
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Terracotta
Early 20th Century British Aesthetic Movement Vases
Porcelain
1880s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Ceramic, Faience, Majolica
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Stoneware
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Ceramic
1880s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Ceramic, Majolica, Faience
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Earthenware
1880s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Ceramic, Faience, Majolica
Early 20th Century English Aesthetic Movement Vases
Silver Plate
Late 19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Pottery
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Earthenware
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Porcelain
Late 19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Pottery
19th Century Chinese Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Bronze
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Porcelain
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Vases
Porcelain