At 1stDibs, there are many versions of the ideal piece of aesthetic movement brass for your home. Was constructed with extraordinary care, often using
metal,
brass and
wood. If you’re shopping for an item from our selection of aesthetic movement brass, we have 193 options in-stock, while there are 2 modern editions to choose from as well. You’ve searched high and low for the perfect choice in our collection of aesthetic movement brass — we have versions that date back to the 19th Century alongside those produced as recently as the 21st Century are available. Each object in our assortment of aesthetic movement brass bearing
Arts and Crafts,
Art Nouveau or
Victorian hallmarks is very popular. You’ll likely find more than one option in this array of aesthetic movement brass that is appealing in its simplicity, but
Christopher Dresser,
Benham & Froud and
Gillows of Lancaster & London produced versions that are worth a look.
A piece of aesthetic movement brass can differ in price owing to various characteristics — the average selling price 1stDibs is $1,982, while the lowest priced sells for $250 and the highest can go for as much as $120,000.
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.