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Art Nouveau Ceramics

ART NOUVEAU STYLE

In its sinuous lines and flamboyant curves inspired by the natural world, antique Art Nouveau furniture reflects a desire for freedom from the stuffy social and artistic strictures of the Victorian era. The Art Nouveau movement developed in the decorative arts in France and Britain in the early 1880s and quickly became a dominant aesthetic style in Western Europe and the United States.

ORIGINS OF ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE DESIGN

CHARACTERISTICS OF ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE DESIGN

  • Sinuous, organic and flowing lines
  • Forms that mimic flowers and plant life
  • Decorative inlays and ornate carvings of natural-world motifs such as insects and animals 
  • Use of hardwoods such as oak, mahogany and rosewood

ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW

ANTIQUE ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS

Art Nouveau — which spanned furniture, architecture, jewelry and graphic design — can be easily identified by its lush, flowing forms suggested by flowers and plants, as well as the lissome tendrils of sea life. Although Art Deco and Art Nouveau were both in the forefront of turn-of-the-20th-century design, they are very different styles — Art Deco is marked by bold, geometric shapes while Art Nouveau incorporates dreamlike, floral motifs. The latter’s signature motif is the "whiplash" curve — a deep, narrow, dynamic parabola that appears as an element in everything from chair arms to cabinetry and mirror frames.

The visual vocabulary of Art Nouveau was particularly influenced by the soft colors and abstract images of nature seen in Japanese art prints, which arrived in large numbers in the West after open trade was forced upon Japan in the 1860s. Impressionist artists were moved by the artistic tradition of Japanese woodblock printmaking, and Japonisme — a term used to describe the appetite for Japanese art and culture in Europe at the time — greatly informed Art Nouveau. 

The Art Nouveau style quickly reached a wide audience in Europe via advertising posters, book covers, illustrations and other work by such artists as Aubrey Beardsley, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Alphonse Mucha. While all Art Nouveau designs share common formal elements, different countries and regions produced their own variants.

In Scotland, the architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh developed a singular, restrained look based on scale rather than ornament; a style best known from his narrow chairs with exceedingly tall backs, designed for Glasgow tea rooms. Meanwhile in France, Hector Guimard — whose iconic 1896 entry arches for the Paris Metro are still in use — and Louis Majorelle produced chairs, desks, bed frames and cabinets with sweeping lines and rich veneers. 

The Art Nouveau movement was known as Jugendstil ("Youth Style") in Germany, and in Austria the designers of the Vienna Secession group — notably Koloman Moser, Josef Hoffmann and Joseph Maria Olbrich — produced a relatively austere iteration of the Art Nouveau style, which mixed curving and geometric elements.

Art Nouveau revitalized all of the applied arts. Ceramists such as Ernest Chaplet and Edmond Lachenal created new forms covered in novel and rediscovered glazes that produced thick, foam-like finishes. Bold vases, bowls and lighting designs in acid-etched and marquetry cameo glass by Émile Gallé and the Daum Freres appeared in France, while in New York the glass workshop-cum-laboratory of Louis Comfort Tiffany — the core of what eventually became a multimedia decorative-arts manufactory called Tiffany Studios — brought out buoyant pieces in opalescent favrile glass. 

Jewelry design was revolutionized, as settings, for the first time, were emphasized as much as, or more than, gemstones. A favorite Art Nouveau jewelry motif was insects (think of Tiffany, in his famed Dragonflies glass lampshade).

Like a mayfly, Art Nouveau was short-lived. The sensuous, languorous style fell out of favor early in the 20th century, deemed perhaps too light and insubstantial for European tastes in the aftermath of World War I. But as the designs on 1stDibs demonstrate, Art Nouveau retains its power to fascinate and seduce.

There are ways to tastefully integrate a touch of Art Nouveau into even the most modern interior — browse an extraordinary collection of original antique Art Nouveau furniture on 1stDibs, which includes decorative objects, seating, tables, garden elements and more.

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Style: Art Nouveau
Delphin Massier Vallauris Iridescent Vase, ca 1900
Located in New York, NY
Delphin Massier (French, 1836-1907) Art Nouveau iridescent glazed ceramic earthenware vase, circa 1900, the tapering cylindrical form molded with swirling ribbing, glazed in red with...
Category

Early 20th Century Art Nouveau Ceramics

Materials

Ceramic

Turn-Teplitz Amphora Pottery Vase, ca. 1900
Located in New York, NY
Turn-Teplitz Amphora Austrian ceramic pottery vase, circa 1900, of tapering cylindrical form with conforming sinuous flowering vine handles and a lobed flare lip, glazed with a combi...
Category

20th Century Art Nouveau Ceramics

Materials

Ceramic

Turquoise Glazed Chinese Ceramic Table Lamp with Crackle Glaze
Located in Verviers, BE
Inspired by a centuries-old technique of Chinese ceramics, this elegant table lamp is a bright and dramatic shade of turquoise with a fine crackle glaze. The dimensions are measured...
Category

1950s French Vintage Art Nouveau Ceramics

Materials

Ceramic

Turquoise Glazed Chinese Style Ceramic Vase with Crackle Glaze
Located in Verviers, BE
Inspired by a centuries-old technique of Chinese ceramics, this elegant vase is a bright and dramatic shade of turquoise with a fine crackle glaze. Photography fails to capture the simple elegance...
Category

1950s French Vintage Art Nouveau Ceramics

Materials

Ceramic

Turquoise Glazed Large Chinese Ceramic Table Lamp with Crackle Glaze
Located in Verviers, BE
Inspired by a centuries-old technique of Chinese ceramics, this elegant table lamp is a bright and dramatic shade of turquoise with a fine crackle glaze. The dimensions are measured...
Category

1950s French Vintage Art Nouveau Ceramics

Materials

Ceramic

Turquoise Glazed Large Chinese Ceramic Table Lamp with Crackle Glaze
Located in Verviers, BE
Inspired by a centuries-old technique of Chinese ceramics, this elegant table lamp is a bright and dramatic shade of turquoise with a fine crackle glaze. The dimensions are measure...
Category

1950s French Vintage Art Nouveau Ceramics

Materials

Ceramic

Inoue Ryosai Sumida Gawa Japanese Pottery Character Jug, c.1900
By Inoue Ryosai
Located in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire
A scarce and unusual Japanese Meiji period Sumida Gawa pottery character jug by renowned potter Inoue Ryosai I (Japanese, 1828 – 1899) dating from the 19th century. Inoue Ryosai ...
Category

1880s Japanese Antique Art Nouveau Ceramics

Materials

Pottery

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Located in Atlanta, GA
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Large Moriage Art Nouveau Style Jug or Pitcher
Located in Dallas, TX
Presenting a lovely early 20th century Japanese imported Moriage style hand-painted Jug in Classic Art Nouveau style. From circa 1900 this jug is in the Classic Art Nouveau style with gorgeous hand-painted flowers/roses and gilded edges. Made of porcelain, with Classic Moriage ‘dotting’ to the rim and spout of the jug. Classic Art Nouveau shaped handle. Unmarked. It still retains it’s retail label from the 1980’s, it was worth $800 to $1,000 back then. Moriage is a special type of raised decoration used on some Japanese pottery. Sometimes pieces of clay were shaped by hand and applied to the item; sometimes the clay was squeezed from a tube in the way we apply cake frosting...
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Art Nouveau ceramics for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Art Nouveau ceramics for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the Mid-20th Century, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage ceramics created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include asian art and furniture, lighting, decorative objects and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with ceramic, pottery and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Art Nouveau ceramics made in a specific country, there are Asia, East Asia, and Japan pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original ceramics, popular names associated with this style include Awaji Pottery, Delphin Massier, Inoue Ryosai, and Kyoto Pottery. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for ceramics differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $294 and tops out at $7,500 while the average work can sell for $1,623.

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