Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
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.
Late 19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Porcelain
Late 19th Century Russian Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Brass, Copper
Late 19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Gold
19th Century American Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Sterling Silver
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Porcelain
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Porcelain
1920s English Vintage Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Porcelain
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Sterling Silver
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Porcelain
1870s British Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Majolica
1890s American Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Sterling Silver
Late 19th Century Austrian Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Glass
Late 19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Ceramic
Early 20th Century American Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century Brazilian Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Multi-gemstone, Silver
Late 19th Century American Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Sterling Silver
Late 19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Sterling Silver
Late 19th Century American Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Silver Plate
21st Century and Contemporary Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Tin
Late 19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Metal
Late 19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Silver Plate, Vermeil
Mid-19th Century American Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Silver
19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Crystal, Bronze, Metal, Tin
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Brass, Copper
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Earthenware
Mid-20th Century Japanese Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century North American Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Sterling Silver
2010s Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Copper
2010s Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Copper
2010s Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Copper
Late 19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Porcelain
1910s Vintage Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Porcelain
2010s Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Copper
20th Century French Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Porcelain
Early 20th Century French Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Porcelain
2010s Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Copper
Late 19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Porcelain
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Sterling Silver
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Brass, Copper
Late 20th Century Italian Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Silver
Mid-20th Century European Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Brass
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Earthenware
1890s English Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Sterling Silver
Mid-19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Majolica
Late 19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Porcelain
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Sterling Silver
Late 19th Century German Antique Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Silver
1920s English Vintage Aesthetic Movement More Dining and Entertaining
Pottery