Blue Children Doulton
Antique 1880s American Aesthetic Movement Ceramics
Earthenware
Antique 19th Century American Aesthetic Movement Decorative Bowls
Earthenware
People Also Browsed
Antique 19th Century English Chinese Chippendale Vitrines
Glass, Mahogany
Antique Mid-19th Century English High Victorian Taxidermy
Other
Early 20th Century American Renaissance Revival Tableware
Sterling Silver
Antique 1870s French Japonisme Vases
Faience
Vintage 1950s English Renaissance Beds and Bed Frames
Oak
1970s Old Masters Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Antique Late 19th Century French Floor Lamps
Bronze
Antique Early 1900s American Art Nouveau Vases
Art Glass
Antique 19th Century English Early Victorian Sofas
Leather
Antique Early 1900s American Vases
Art Glass
Vintage 1920s American Art Nouveau Table Lamps
Art Glass
Early 20th Century Austrian Games
Bronze
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Chinese Tang Animal Sculptures
Pottery
20th Century French French Provincial Vases
Ceramic
Antique Early 19th Century English Gothic Revival Bookcases
Brass
Antique Late 18th Century French Chinoiserie Paintings
Canvas, Giltwood
A Close Look at aesthetic-movement Furniture
In 1880, polymath designer William Morris declared: “If you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” His words encapsulated the Aesthetic Movement, which prized beauty above all and blurred the lines between fine art and the decorative arts, particularly through lavishly crafted furniture pieces.
The Aesthetic Movement, whose major proponents included author Oscar Wilde, flourished from the 1860s to the 1880s and was mostly popular in England and the United States. Design expositions like the 1876 Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia, as well as the publishing of how-to books for interior design, helped disseminate Aesthetic Movement bedroom furniture, serveware, coffee tables and other items, especially to the middle class.
The establishment of new art museums, art clubs and a rising passion for collecting at the time contributed to a growing appreciation for art. Morris’s founding of Morris & Co. in 1862 and the commercializing of this “cult of beauty” by the Liberty store in London, starting in the late 19th century, further disseminated the idea of a domestic space that was thoughtfully and floridly designed.
Leading Aesthetic Movement furniture designers included E.W. Godwin, who drew on Japanese influences and whose work reflected a wider enthusiasm for imported East Asian art. British designer Christopher Dresser created textiles, ceramics and more that were also inspired by Japanese decorative art but were representative of additional diverse design sources that ranged from Egypt to Mexico.
The Aesthetic Movement’s eclecticism resulted in dazzling interiors. Japanese fans were positioned on Renaissance-inspired cabinets with brass hardware, while mantels made of rich walnut or finely carved ebonized wood and adorned with painted Minton tiles mingled with cast-iron chairs against a backdrop of floral wallpaper. In 1881, in New York City, stenciled checkerboard motifs and painted floral murals could be found under an opalescent glass chandelier in a luxurious dressing room designed by German émigré cabinetmaker-decorator George Alfred Schastey. Amid the rise of the industrial age, the style’s promotion of art in everyday life would inform the Arts and Crafts Movement and Art Nouveau.
Find a collection of antique Aesthetic Movement seating, tables, decorative objects and other furniture and antiques on 1stDibs.