Find many varieties of an authentic Greek plate classical available at 1stDibs. Frequently made of
ceramic,
metal and
porcelain, every Greek plate classical was constructed with great care. Find 26 options for an antique or vintage Greek plate classical now, or shop our selection of 1 modern versions for a more contemporary example of this long-cherished piece. Whether you’re looking for an older or newer Greek plate classical, there are earlier versions available from the 18th Century and newer variations made as recently as the 21st Century. A Greek plate classical, designed in the style, is generally a popular piece of furniture. A well-made Greek plate classical has long been a part of the offerings for many furniture designers and manufacturers, but those produced by
Royal Vienna Porcelain,
Viennese Imperial Porcelain Manufactory and
Elkington & Co. are consistently popular.
Prices for a Greek plate classical can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — at 1stDibs, they begin at $50 and can go as high as $6,378, while the average can fetch as much as $750.
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.