Classical Greek Decorative Art
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.
1850s English Antique Classical Greek Decorative Art
Paper
1850s English Antique Classical Greek Decorative Art
Paper
1850s English Antique Classical Greek Decorative Art
Paper
1940s American Vintage Classical Greek Decorative Art
Gold Leaf
Mid-20th Century Greek Classical Greek Decorative Art
Terracotta, Paint
1960s Greek Vintage Classical Greek Decorative Art
Plaster
Mid-20th Century Classical Greek Decorative Art
Steel
Late 20th Century Greek Classical Greek Decorative Art
Paint
Mid-20th Century Classical Greek Decorative Art
Brass
Early 19th Century English Antique Classical Greek Decorative Art
Steel
20th Century European Classical Greek Decorative Art
Ceramic
1960s Italian Vintage Classical Greek Decorative Art
Paint
Early 19th Century German Antique Classical Greek Decorative Art
Porcelain
19th Century Antique Classical Greek Decorative Art
Iron
19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Decorative Art
Bronze
20th Century Italian Classical Greek Decorative Art
Giltwood
Late 20th Century Greek Classical Greek Decorative Art
Paint
Late 20th Century Greek Classical Greek Decorative Art
Porcelain
20th Century European Classical Greek Decorative Art
Clay
Early 20th Century Unknown Classical Greek Decorative Art
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Classical Greek Decorative Art
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Classical Greek Decorative Art
Brass
2010s Classical Greek Decorative Art
Paper
1970s German Vintage Classical Greek Decorative Art
Majolica
20th Century German Classical Greek Decorative Art
Porcelain
19th Century European Antique Classical Greek Decorative Art
Metal
Early 20th Century Dutch Classical Greek Decorative Art
Earthenware
Early 20th Century Hungarian Classical Greek Decorative Art
Ceramic
1890s Austrian Antique Classical Greek Decorative Art
Porcelain
1810s English Antique Classical Greek Decorative Art
Paper
18th Century Antique Classical Greek Decorative Art
Wood
1930s Danish Vintage Classical Greek Decorative Art
Concrete
Early 20th Century German Classical Greek Decorative Art
Paper, Glass, Wood
20th Century Greek Classical Greek Decorative Art
Terracotta
19th Century European Antique Classical Greek Decorative Art
1960s American Vintage Classical Greek Decorative Art
Wood
19th Century British Antique Classical Greek Decorative Art
Silver Plate
19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Decorative Art
Metal, Bronze