Biedermeier Dining Room Chairs
The authentic Biedermeier furniture on 1stDibs is representative of the first modern European decorative style not dictated by the tastes of the aristocracy. Following the Napoleonic wars, a growing, wealthy urban middle class in the German-speaking states of Central Europe began to demand rights and privileges once granted only to nobles. To avoid trouble, the upwardly striving confined their political discussions to one another’s homes. And so the salon was born.
Cabinetmakers in cities such as Vienna, Berlin and Mainz began to offer goods that reflected the tastes and needs of the new class. The makers of Biedermeier chairs, tables and other furniture used little or no gilding, silver hardware or other lavish ornament. Ebonized trims are common on Biedermeier cabinetry, and neoclassical elements — lyre-shaped chair splats, carved scrollwork, table supports shaped like Greek columns. But the strongest aesthetic statement came from the wood — richly-grained, honey-colored, often book-matched veneers of walnut and fruitwood.
There are two iconic Biedermeier furniture forms, both made to outfit rooms designed for conversation. One is the sofa, deeply upholstered with a strong, architectural wooden frame. The second is the circular pedestal table, which stood at the center of the room, offering a surface on which to place coffee and cake services; or to roll out a map, or sketch out ideas on paper.
“Biedermeier” was originally a derogatory term — it derives from the pen names of two German magazine writers who mocked bourgeois manners. Looking at the elegant and refined antique, new and vintage Biedermeier furniture offered on 1stDibs, that is now an amusing irony.
18th Century German Antique Biedermeier Dining Room Chairs
Cherry
Early 2000s American Biedermeier Dining Room Chairs
Maple
1960s American Vintage Biedermeier Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Cane, Amboyna
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Dining Room Chairs
Walnut
19th Century Unknown Antique Biedermeier Dining Room Chairs
Cherry, Fruitwood
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Dining Room Chairs
Walnut
20th Century German Biedermeier Dining Room Chairs
Mahogany
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Dining Room Chairs
Fabric, Cherry, Lacquer
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Dining Room Chairs
Mahogany
1820s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Dining Room Chairs
Silk, Cherry
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Dining Room Chairs
Cherry, Ebony
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Dining Room Chairs
Walnut, Upholstery
Early 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Dining Room Chairs
Elm
20th Century Austrian Biedermeier Dining Room Chairs
Mahogany
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Dining Room Chairs
Mahogany
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery, Mahogany
Late 19th Century European Antique Biedermeier Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery, Cherry
Mid-18th Century German Antique Biedermeier Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery, Fruitwood
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Dining Room Chairs
Cherry
19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Dining Room Chairs
Birch
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Dining Room Chairs
Walnut
1810s German Antique Biedermeier Dining Room Chairs
Mahogany
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Dining Room Chairs
Steel
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Dining Room Chairs
Walnut