Biedermeier Furniture
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.
Mid-19th Century Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
Early 20th Century German Biedermeier Furniture
Wood, Hardwood, Maple
1810s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Fruitwood
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Early 19th Century Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cherry, Softwood
1830s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Amboyna
Late 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Mahogany
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Mid-20th Century Biedermeier Furniture
Birdseye Maple, Wood
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Wood
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Mahogany
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
1810s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Mahogany
1820s Swiss Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
19th Century European Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Mirror, Nutwood
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cherry
20th Century Biedermeier Furniture
Wood, Maple
Early 20th Century North American Biedermeier Furniture
Ebony, Burl
1870s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Mahogany
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cherry, Softwood
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Iron
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Brass, Iron
Mid-20th Century Italian Biedermeier Furniture
Hardwood
Mid-19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Metal, Brass
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Fir
1870s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Early 19th Century French Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut, Oak
Mid-20th Century Austrian Biedermeier Furniture
Gold Leaf
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cut Glass, Walnut
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cherry
1810s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cherry
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Glass
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Birch
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cherry
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Upholstery, Walnut
20th Century Czech Biedermeier Furniture
Crystal
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Birch
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
1820s Swedish Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Ash, Ebony, Burl
1830s Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Bouclé, Beech
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
1820s Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
1850s Swedish Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cherry
1880s French Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Oak
Early 19th Century Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
1880s French Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Early 19th Century French Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Bronze