What is a gesso frame?

Gesso is the Italian word for “chalk.” It has been used for the preparation of gilding frames. You can find a variety of gesso picture frames on 1stDibs.

Are antique picture frames valuable?

Antique picture frames can be very valuable, particularly if they are older and have maintained their high quality. Some designs are considered classically attractive and are more valuable even if they are not as old.

Antique Gesso Frames

Antique Chalkboard

Victorian Oval Mirror

Italian Gesso

Gilt Framed Wall Mirrors

Gold Gilt Wood Frames

Early 20th Century Wood Frame

Xl Painting

Large Wood Picture Frame

Large oil on canvas Painting of a Shepherd herding his Flock by Henri Matthys

$6,800Sale Price|20% Off

Large oil on canvas Painting of a Shepherd herding his Flock by Henri Matthys

By Henri Matthys

Located in Vancouver, British Columbia

The painting is presented in a gesso carved gilt wooden frame and is signed H. Matthys at the bottom right hand corner of the canvas.

Category

Early 20th Century Belgian Victorian Antique Gesso Frames

Materials

Canvas, Paint

A Fine 19th Century Dutch Seascape by William Adolphus Knell 1st, (1801-1875)

$3,000

A Fine 19th Century Dutch Seascape by William Adolphus Knell 1st, (1801-1875)

By William Adolphus Knell 1

Located in Ottawa, Ontario

Oil on canvas, signed bottom left, affixed to what appears to be its original keyed stretcher, set within a later gilt patinated & gesso molded wood frame. ...

Category

Mid-19th Century English Victorian Antique Gesso Frames

Materials

Canvas, Wood, Paint

Sarah Porter, "Queen of the Touters at Tunbridge Wells" Engraving, circa 1770

$938

Sarah Porter, "Queen of the Touters at Tunbridge Wells" Engraving, circa 1770

Located in Lowestoft, GB

After Vander Smissen 'Mrs Sarah Porter, Queen of the Touters at Tunbridge Wells', a mezzotint, engraved by William Pether circa 1770, glazed in ebonised, gilt & gesso wood frame. ...

Category

Late 18th Century English Antique Gesso Frames

Materials

Glass, Pine, Paper

Antique 19th Cnt French Louis XVI Gold Leaf Gilt Oval Mirror with Facetted Glass

$5,027Sale Price|20% Off

Antique 19th Cnt French Louis XVI Gold Leaf Gilt Oval Mirror with Facetted Glass

Located in Casteren, NL

The mirror has a solid pine oval frame smoothened with gesso and decorated with ornaments throughout.

Category

Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Gesso Frames

Materials

Gold Leaf

Pair Fine Quality French Gilt Salon Chairs circa 1880

$1,182 / set

Pair Fine Quality French Gilt Salon Chairs circa 1880

Located in Godshill, Isle of Wight

A pair fine quality French gilt salon chairs circa 1880 Old world faded elegance a pair of French salon chairs in the Louis XVI style, the chairs are in original gilt and powder ...

Category

Mid-19th Century French Provincial Antique Gesso Frames

Materials

Giltwood

French 18th Century Louis XV Trumeau Wall Mirror with Floral Still Life Panel

$4,500

French 18th Century Louis XV Trumeau Wall Mirror with Floral Still Life Panel

Located in Berlin, DE

. /63,5 cm) within a rectangular giltwood frame with floral gesso carving and an ornamental Louis XV cresting.

Category

Mid-18th Century French Louis XV Antique Gesso Frames

Materials

Canvas, Wood

Surprise in the Woods by S. Martin Painting

$12,000Sale Price|52% Off

Surprise in the Woods by S. Martin Painting

By Sylvester Martin

Located in Guaynabo, PR

This painting is highlighted by a beautiful heavy carved and giltwood and gesso overlapped laurel leaves frame.

Category

19th Century German Other Antique Gesso Frames

Materials

Canvas

George I Mirror in the Manner of John Belchier

$52,500

George I Mirror in the Manner of John Belchier

Located in Greenwich, CT

Very fine George I carved and gilt mirror, circa 1720, in the manner of John Belchier having an ostrich feather plume over tasseled central lambrequin, deep projecting scroll carved ...

Category

Early 18th Century English George I Antique Gesso Frames

Materials

Giltwood

19th Century China Trade Pair of Portraits of Sea Captain and Wife

$5,200

19th Century China Trade Pair of Portraits of Sea Captain and Wife

Located in Nantucket, MA

There is craquelure to the surface as is almost always seen in Chinese Export pieces (due to how thinly the artists applied their paint), but the paintings remain strong and stable. ...

Category

1850s Hong Kong Victorian Antique Gesso Frames

Materials

Canvas

Eugène Galien-Laloue "Theatre du Chatelet" Watercolor and Gouache

$24,750

Eugène Galien-Laloue "Theatre du Chatelet" Watercolor and Gouache

By Eugene Galien-Laloue

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Eugène Galien-Laloue (1854-1941) "Theatre du Chatelet" watercolor and gouache on paper signed 'E Galien Laloue' lower left, within a giltwood and gesso carved frame and behind a prot...

Category

Early 1900s French Belle Époque Antique Gesso Frames

Materials

Glass, Giltwood, Paper

Italian 17th Century Oil on Canvas Head of Christ Crowned with Thorns, Mignard

$44,850Sale Price|30% Off

Italian 17th Century Oil on Canvas Head of Christ Crowned with Thorns, Mignard

By (circle of) Pierre Mignard

Located in Los Angeles, CA

A very fine Italian 17th century oval oil on canvas "Head of Christ Crowned with Thorns" Circle of Pierre Mignard (French, 1612-1695) within its original gilt wood and gesso carved f...

Category

17th Century French Baroque Antique Gesso Frames

Materials

Canvas, Giltwood

Karl Josef MullerA Jolly Time -- German Genre Tavern Painting, 1918, 1918

$4,500Sale Price|40% Off

A Jolly Time -- German Genre Tavern Painting, 1918

Located in Soquel, CA

Image size: 39.5"H x 55"W. We have the original frame which needs some extensive repair to the gesso.

Category

1910s Realist Antique Gesso Frames

Materials

Linen, Oil

Small Gilt Oval Frame with Handk Drawn Deep Convex Mirror

$2,000

Small Gilt Oval Frame with Handk Drawn Deep Convex Mirror

By Stephen Cavallo

Located in New York, NY

Small gilt oval frame with handk drawn deep convex mirror Overall size: H 22" x W 18". Finished in faux rosewood with gilt edge qty. three Finished gilt oval (1).

Category

17th Century American Adam Style Antique Gesso Frames

Materials

Gesso

Large Louis XV Style Giltwood Console Table, 19th Century with Marble Top

$8,400Sale Price|20% Off

Large Louis XV Style Giltwood Console Table, 19th Century with Marble Top

Located in Houston, TX

Beautiful Gilt patina, gilt gesso over carved wood frame.

Category

Mid-19th Century French Antique Gesso Frames

Materials

Marble

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Antique Gesso Frames For Sale on 1stDibs

Find a variety of antique gesso frames available on 1stDibs. Frequently made of gesso, wood and glass, all antique gesso frames available were constructed with great care. Antique gesso frames have long been popular, with older editions for sale from the 18th Century and newer versions made as recently as the 20th Century. Antique gesso frames are generally popular furniture pieces, but Victorian, Rococo and Louis XV styles are often sought at 1stDibs. There have been many well-made antique gesso frames over the years, but those made by John James Audubon, Edgar Degas and James Edwin Meadows are often thought to be among the most beautiful.

How Much are Antique Gesso Frames?

Prices for antique gesso frames start at $170 and top out at $30,965 with the average selling for $1,899.

Questions About Antique Gesso Frames

What is a gesso frame?
1 Answer
1stDibs ExpertSeptember 28, 2021
Gesso is the Italian word for “chalk.” It has been used for the preparation of gilding frames. You can find a variety of gesso picture frames on 1stDibs.
Are antique picture frames valuable?
2 Answers
1stDibs ExpertAugust 17, 2021
Antique picture frames can be very valuable, particularly if they are older and have maintained their high quality. Some designs are considered classically attractive and are more valuable even if they are not as old.
1stDibs ExpertAugust 24, 2021
Yes, antique picture frames are considered valuable. They are regarded as high-value collectibles and can often be seen in exhibits without canvases, as art pieces on their own. Made of wood traditionally, antique picture frames remain very popular owing to their ability to be shaped in varied profiles. You can choose from a wide variety of antique picture frames, including designs in antique and vintage, new and contemporary, and 21st century pre-owned styles on 1stDibs.