Porcelain 1700 Circa Figurines
Antique 18th Century Italian Rococo Centerpieces
Porcelain
People Also Browsed
Antique 1890s German Dinner Plates
Porcelain
20th Century French Floor Lamps
Crystal
Antique 19th Century German Rococo Vases
Porcelain
Antique Late 19th Century Italian Classical Greek Porcelain
Porcelain
Antique 17th Century Italian Baroque Bookcases
Spruce
Early 20th Century Italian Rococo Revival Porcelain
Porcelain
Antique Late 19th Century German Rococo Vases
Porcelain
Vintage 1960s Russian Posters
Paper
20th Century Italian Neoclassical Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
Antique 19th Century Italian Romantic Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
20th Century Italian Chinoiserie Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
Antique 19th Century English Chinese Chippendale Vitrines
Glass, Mahogany
Antique Early 1900s German Rococo Dinner Plates
Porcelain
Antique Mid-19th Century English High Victorian Taxidermy
Other
Late 20th Century European Modern Tables
Marble
Antique Late 19th Century French Napoleon III Fireplaces and Mantels
Marble, Breccia Marble, Carrara Marble
Recent Sales
Vintage 1960s Italian Louis XVI Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
Antique 1870s German Rococo Porcelain
Porcelain
Antique 1870s German Rococo Porcelain
Porcelain
Antique 1870s German Rococo Porcelain
Porcelain
Antique 1850s German Rococo Porcelain
Porcelain
Antique 1860s German Rococo Porcelain
Porcelain
Antique 1870s German Rococo Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
A Close Look at rococo Furniture
Rococo was an aesthetic movement in the fine and decorative arts in the 18th century that found its inspiration in nature and fostered an overall lightness and delicacy of form, construction and ornament in interior design. Rococo furniture, while greatly influenced by trends in Italy and Germany, is often called Louis XV style — the movement having reached its best expression during that sybaritic French king’s reign.
The term “rococo” is thought to be a portmanteau of the French words rocaille and coquilles — “rock” and “shells” — organic motifs frequently used in architecture and design of the style.
When it comes to authentic Rococo furniture's characteristics, it is above all sensuous and social. The furniture of earlier eras in Europe had been heavy in every sense; the Rococo period saw the appearance of light-framed upholstered armchairs, side chairs and occasional tables that could easily be moved to form conversational circles.
The signal detail of Rococo furniture design is the gently curved cabriole, or S-shaped chair-, table-, and cabinet-leg. It imitates the bend of a tree limb or a flower stem. In a further reference to nature, furnishings were often asymmetrical and painted white, or in soft, pastel shades. Rococo has become a timeless style, and as the furniture pieces presented on 1stDibs demonstrate, its playful, sculptural forms can provide visual excitement to contemporary, clean-lined spaces.
Finding the Right porcelain for You
Today you’re likely to bring out your antique and vintage porcelain in order to dress up your dining table for a special meal.
Porcelain, a durable and nonporous kind of pottery made from clay and stone, was first made in China and spread across the world owing to the trade routes to the Far East established by Dutch and Portuguese merchants. Given its origin, English speakers called porcelain “fine china,” an expression you still might hear today. "Fine" indeed — for over a thousand years, it has been a highly sought-after material.
Meissen Porcelain, one of the first factories to create real porcelain outside Asia, popularized figurine centerpieces during the 18th century in Germany, while works by Capodimonte, a porcelain factory in Italy, are synonymous with flowers and notoriously hard to come by. Modern porcelain houses such as Maison Fragile of Limoges, France — long a hub of private porcelain manufacturing — keep the city’s long tradition alive while collaborating with venturesome contemporary artists such as illustrator Jean-Michel Tixier.
Porcelain is not totally clumsy-guest-proof, but it is surprisingly durable and easy to clean. Its low permeability and hardness have rendered porcelain wares a staple in kitchens and dining rooms as well as a common material for bathroom sinks and dental veneers. While it is tempting to store your porcelain behind closed glass cabinet doors and reserve it only for display, your porcelain dinner plates and serving platters can safely weather the “dangers” of the dining room and be used during meals.
Add different textures and colors to your table with dinner plates and pitchers of ceramic and silver or a porcelain lidded tureen, a serving dish with side handles that is often used for soups. Although porcelain and ceramic are both made in a kiln, porcelain is made with more refined clay and is stronger than ceramic because it is denser.
On 1stDibs, browse an expansive collection of antique and vintage porcelain made in a variety of styles, including Regency, Scandinavian modern and other examples produced during the mid-century era, plus Rococo, which found its inspiration in nature and saw potters crafting animal figurines and integrating organic motifs such as floral patterns in their work.