Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
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.
Mid-19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Fruitwood, Mahogany
20th Century Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Faux Bamboo, Lacquer
19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Bamboo, Glass
Late 19th Century Syrian Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Metal
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Bamboo, Mirror, Wood
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Ebony, Walnut
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Brass
1890s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Rattan, Wood
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Brass
19th Century Moroccan Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Bone, Wood
Mid-19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Glass, Oak
Early 20th Century European Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Satinwood
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Wood, Walnut
Early 1900s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Mahogany
1870s British Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Walnut
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Walnut
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Walnut
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Walnut
19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Bamboo, Mirror
Late 19th Century Unknown Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Bamboo, Lacquer
19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Mahogany
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Beech
Late 19th Century American Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Brass
Late 19th Century American Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Mother-of-Pearl, Wood, Faux Bamboo
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Oak
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Gold
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Walnut
Mid-19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Walnut
1940s English Vintage Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Pine
Mid-20th Century Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Pine
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Marble, Brass
Early 1900s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Bamboo
Late 19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Brass
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Wood
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Walnut
1950s Italian Vintage Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Walnut
1850s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Mahogany
1850s European Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Walnut
Mid-19th Century Unknown Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Mahogany
1860s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Walnut, Lacquer
Early 1900s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Brass
1930s European Vintage Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Bamboo, Rattan, Wood
Late 19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Mahogany
2010s Philippine Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Brass
1880s Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Pine
Early 20th Century English Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Enamel
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Wood
Late 19th Century American Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Chestnut
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Bone, Bamboo, Mirror, Lacquer
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Cabinets
Amboyna