Find a variety of biedermeier glasses available on 1stDibs. Each of these unique biedermeier glasses was constructed with extraordinary care, often using
wood,
glass and
metal. There are 527 antique and vintage biedermeier glasses for sale at 1stDibs, while we also have 14 modern editions to choose from as well. Biedermeier glasses have been made for many years, and versions that date back to the 18th Century alongside those produced as recently as the 21st Century. Biedermeier glasses bearing
Art Deco or
mid-century modern hallmarks are very popular at 1stDibs.
Biedermeier,
Viennese Manufactory and
Meissen Porcelain each produced beautiful biedermeier glasses that are worth considering.
Prices for biedermeier glasses can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — at 1stDibs, biedermeier glasses begin at $160 and can go as high as $133,248, while the average can fetch as much as $3,073.
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.