Skip to main content

Neoclassical Period Collection

Neoclassical Furniture (FRANCE AND UNITED KINGDOM, CA. 1750)
Neoclassical Furniture (FRANCE AND UNITED KINGDOM, CA. 1750)

Neoclassical design emerged in Europe in the 1750s, as the Age of Enlightenment reached full flower. Furniture took its cues from the styles of ancient Rome and Athens: symmetrical, ordered, dignified forms with such details as tapered and fluted chair and table legs, backrest finials and scrolled arms. Over a period of some 20 years, first in France and later in Britain, Neoclassical design — also known as Louis XVI, or Louis Seize — would supersede the lithe and curvaceous Rococo or Louis XV style.

The first half of the 18th century had seen a rebirth of interest in classical antiquity. The "Grand Tour" of Europe, codified as a part of the proper education of a patrician gentleman, included an extended visit to Rome. Some ventured further, to sketch the ruins of ancient Greece. These drawings and others — particularly those derived from the surprising and rich archaeological discoveries in the 1730s and ’40s at the sites of the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum — caused great excitement among intellectuals and aesthetes alike.

Neoclassical furniture is meant to reflect both grace and power. The overall appearance of Neoclassical chairs, tables and cabinetry is strong and rectilinear. These pieces are, in effect, classical architecture in miniature: chair and table legs are shaped like columns; cabinets are constructed with elements that mirror friezes and pediments.

Yet neoclassicism is enlivened by gilt and silver leaf, marquetry, and carved and applied ornamental motifs based on Greek and Roman sculpture: acanthus leaves, garlands, laurel wreaths, sheaves of arrow, medallions and chair splats are carved in the shapes of lyres and urns. As you can see from the furniture shown on these pages, there is a bit of whimsy in such stately pieces — a touch of lightness that will always keep Neoclassicism fresh.

to
2
3
2
1
2
3
2
1
2
3
3
Height
to
Width
to
3
3
3
Rare Louis XVI Period Enamel and Gilt Bronze Clock
Located in Montreal, QC
Rare Louis XVI period enamel and gilt bronze clock on a black marble base.
Category

18th Century and Earlier French Antique Neoclassical Period Collection

Materials

Bronze

Clock Mantle Gilt Bronze Neoclassical Empire French 19th Century France
Located in New York, NY
Clock Mantle Gilt Bronze Neoclassical Empire French 19th Century France. A French mantel clock in gilt bronze. Neoclassical symbols such Cup...
Category

Late 18th Century French Neoclassical Antique Neoclassical Period Collection

Materials

Ormolu

Clock Mantle Gilt Bronze Neoclassical Empire French 19th Century France
Located in New York, NY
Clock Mantle Gilt Bronze Neoclassical Empire French 19th Century France. A French mantle in gilt bronze decorated with neoclassical symbols ...
Category

19th Century French Neoclassical Antique Neoclassical Period Collection

Materials

Ormolu

Related Items
19th Century French gilt mantle clock with sevres plaques
Located in Debenham, Suffolk
19th century French gilt mantle clock with sevres plaques circa 1890. Fine quality ornate french clock surmounted with a lady in traditional french dress leaning on an architectural window and ship building tools.  Enamel clock face...
Category

Late 19th Century French Rococo Antique Neoclassical Period Collection

Materials

Enamel, Ormolu

Mid-19th Century French Slate & Marble Mantle Clock
Located in Chapel Hill, NC
Mid-19th century French slate & marble mantle clock. Drum head form. Black slate & green, black & white marble. Made by P. Marti et Cie. 8-day movement. History of clock repairs on b...
Category

Mid-19th Century French Neoclassical Antique Neoclassical Period Collection

Materials

Marble, Slate

Mid-19th Century French Slate & Marble Mantle Clock
Mid-19th Century French Slate & Marble Mantle Clock
$600
H 10.25 in W 15.88 in D 5.75 in
Exceptional Louis XVI Style Gilt Bronze and Malachite Grandfather Clock
Located in London, GB
Exceptional Louis XVI style gilt bronze and malachite grandfather clock French, late 19th century Measures: Height 250cm, width 54cm, depth 33cm This superb longcase clock is a wonderful example of the Belle Époque impetus to draw inspiration from the styles of the past. The clock, crafted during the late nineteenth century—though the malachite finish is later—is inspired by a famous eighteenth-century original. The clock is of traditional form, which a cubic clock case inset with an enamel dial and a gilt bronze bezel cast with signs of the zodiac. The central section of the clock includes a window, which reveals the pendulum inside, while the lower section is in the form of a plinth. The malachite veneer is wonderfully varied, with lighter and darker shades of the stone utilised to add visual interest. The clock is surmounted by a sculpture in gilt bronze of Apollo in his chariot, pulled by a quadriga of horses. The dial is signed for Rosel Bruxelles...
Category

Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Neoclassical Period Collection

Materials

Malachite, Ormolu

Louis XVI Style Gilt and Patinated Bronze Clock
Located in Astoria, NY
Louis XVI Style Gilt and Patinated Bronze Clock, the circular painted enamel dial, with strike on bell movement, the cartouche shaped case mounted with a finial, acanthus and laurel ...
Category

Early 20th Century French Louis XVI Neoclassical Period Collection

Materials

Bronze

Louis XVI Style Gilt and Patinated Bronze Clock
Louis XVI Style Gilt and Patinated Bronze Clock
$2,350
H 23.5 in W 12 in D 6.5 in
Cronier Paris Louis XVI Period Gilt Bronze Wall Clock France
Located in New York, NY
A rare and important Louis XVI clock by Cronier, Paris, France circa 1790. Crafted in fire-gilt bronze with a round convex white enamel face with black Roman numerals for the hours A...
Category

Late 18th Century French Antique Neoclassical Period Collection

Materials

Bronze

Large 19th Century French Gilt Bronze, Sevres Mounted Four - Glass Mantle Clock
Located in Dublin, IE
A fine large and impressive 19th century gilt bronze mantle clock, surmounted by a Sevres porcelain hand painted plaque finial, above a dome shaped structure, with a dome shaped beve...
Category

19th Century French Louis XIV Antique Neoclassical Period Collection

Materials

Bronze, Enamel, Ormolu

Louis XVI Style Gilt Bronze Mantel Clock
Located in Bradenton, FL
A very good quality Louis XVI Style Gilt Bronze Mantel Clock. French gilt bronze clock with enamel face, fruit and lion motif, on plinth. H 22.3 cm (8.8 in.), All clocks sold as is w...
Category

19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Neoclassical Period Collection

Materials

Bronze

Louis XVI Style Gilt Bronze Mantel Clock
Louis XVI Style Gilt Bronze Mantel Clock
$2,250
H 8.75 in W 5 in D 2 in
Very Fine Late 19th Century Gilt Bronze Mantle Clock
Located in Long Island City, NY
A Very Fine Late 19th Century Gilt Bronze Mantle Clock The clock face is flanked by one child playing the french horn,the other playing with finger cymbals, all raised on an elabor...
Category

Late 19th Century French Belle Époque Antique Neoclassical Period Collection

Materials

Bronze, Ormolu

French Empire Bronze Mantle Clock
Located in Essex, MA
Of majestic scale with the ormolu gilding in very good condition in working order.
Category

1810s French Empire Antique Neoclassical Period Collection

Materials

Bronze

French Empire Bronze Mantle Clock
French Empire Bronze Mantle Clock
$8,750
H 25.38 in W 12.75 in D 7.5 in
French 19th Century Boulle mantle clock.
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A very good quality French 19th Century Boulle mantle clock, having a gilded ormolu putti seated on the top, Red tortoiseshell and brass inlay to the serpentine shaped case, wonderfu...
Category

Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Neoclassical Period Collection

Materials

Brass, Ormolu

French 19th Century Boulle mantle clock.
French 19th Century Boulle mantle clock.
$3,925
H 18.12 in W 8.67 in D 4.73 in
19th Century French Marble Mantle Clock
Located in Charlottesville, VA
A stately French Empire mantle clock. In marble with bronze mounts
Category

19th Century French Antique Neoclassical Period Collection

Materials

Marble, Metal

19th Century French Marble Mantle Clock
19th Century French Marble Mantle Clock
$1,200
H 16.5 in W 11 in D 6 in
Louis XVI Style Gilt Bronze and White Marble Clock
Located in Paris, FR
Gilt bronze clock in the Louis XVI style representing a nymph and two cherubs. The nymph, undressed and resting on a cushion, is nursing one of the cherubs while the second one calls...
Category

1850s French Louis XVI Antique Neoclassical Period Collection

Materials

Marble, Bronze, Enamel

Louis XVI Style Gilt Bronze and White Marble Clock
Louis XVI Style Gilt Bronze and White Marble Clock
$8,377
H 17.72 in W 13.19 in D 5.12 in

Recently Viewed

View All