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
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.
Art Nouveau Casket by Niels Dam Ravn, 1930s, Denmark
By N. Dam Ravn
Located in Værløse, DK
Art Nouveau brass casket designed by Niels Dam Ravn in the 1930s. * Curvilinear bronze casket with floral motifs and fitted wooden interior box * Designer: Niels Dam Ravn * Manufact...
Brass
Art Nouveau Casket by Niels Dam Ravn, 1930s, Denmark
By N. Dam Ravn
Located in Værløse, DK
Art Nouveau bronze casket designed by Niels Dam Ravn and produced by Nordisk Malm in the 1930s. * Curvilinear bronze casket with deer motifs and a fitted wooden interior box * Desig...
Brass
1920 English Huntley & Palmers Chinoiserie Jar on Stand Biscuit Tin Box
Located in Chapel Hill, NC
1920 Huntley & Palmers Chinoiserie Jar on Stand Biscuit Tin Box. Faux craquelure glazed "jar" decorated with phoenix birds, rising sun, & flowering bamboo. Great handles & borders. B...
Metal, Tin
Gorgeous Cathedral Cologne Souvenir Trinket Jewelry Box Antique, German, 1950s
Located in Nuernberg, DE
Beautiful souvenir trinket box made of metal. A beautiful nice addition to your vanity room or your collection of Grand Tour items.
Metal
Antique Vintage Ladys Ormolu Bronze Dore German Jewelery Box Casket Art Nouveau
Located in Dublin, Ireland
A beautiful quality Art Nouveau Gilt Bronze Jewelry Casket, made in Germany in c. 1900, firmly attributed to renowned maker Erhard & Sohne. The highly elaborate ormolu metal case...
Brass, Bronze, Ormolu
Mid-Century Rectangular Brass and Shell Jewelry Trinket Box
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
Sturdy rectangular hinged trinket box featuring brass and inlaid iridescent mother of pearl shells throughout. This box is super charming and functional for displaying or containing ...
Metal, Brass
Norwegian Art Nouveau Lidded Box with Amber Cabochons, Norway, ca. 1900.
Located in Valby, 84
Norwegian Art Nouveau Pewter and Silver Lidded Box Set with Amber Cabochons, Norway, ca. 1900 Of rectangular form raised on four compressed bun feet, the hinged lid centred with a l...
Silver, Pewter
Wonderful Antique English Sterling Silver Pot Pourri Box by Walker & Hall - 1911
Located in Bath, GB
A wonderful and most unusual Pot Pourri box made from solid English sterling silver fully hallmarked for Sheffield 1911 together with the makers mark for the top notch silversmith, W...
Sterling Silver
$269Sale Price|20% Off
Antique Jewelry Box Jewels Bronze Colored Metal France
Located in Poperinge, BE
A beautiful, antique French jewelry box, very heavy, made of patinated copper-plated metal, shaped like a table, with a hinged lid and a central medallion depicting a Greek-style fem...
Metal
GEORGE ADAM SCHEID 1900 Art Nouveau Joseph Maria Auchentaller Enameled Box
Located in Miami, FL
Joseph Maria Auchentaller enameled box for George Adam Scheid (1837-1921). An extremely rare box created in Vienna, Austria, at the silversmith atelier of Georg Adam Scheid, circa 1...
Silver, Gold, Sterling Silver, Enamel
Art Nouveau Rectangular Silver Plate Jewelry Box, France
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
This French rectangular silver box is heavily decorated in the typical styles of this Art Nouveau period. The box has vintage red velvet interior and the original hardware with a wor...
Silver Plate
Circa 1907-1909 English Huntley & Palmer's "Iron Chest" Biscuit Tin Box
Located in Chapel Hill, NC
Circa 1907-1909 Huntley & Palmers "Iron Chest" Biscuit Tin Box, English. Very collectible. 17th century Armada Chest form with hinged top with two "seals" - one of the Royal Coat of ...
Metal, Tin
Vintage bronze mounted porcelain box hand painted butterflies and floral decor
Located in Wommelgem, VAN
Porcelain bronze mounted box, Art Nouveau style Made of hand-painted crackled, glazed high quality bronze mounted porcelain. Signed on the bottom. An all over polychrome floral deco...
Porcelain
French Art Nouveau Brass Apple-Shaped Jewelry Box/Ashtray, 1920s
Located in Poperinge, BE
A beautiful French jewelry box, trinket box, or ash tray shaped like an apple with branches and leaves; featuring the typical floral and organic Art Nouveau style, circa 1920. This ...
Brass
Erhard & Sohne Art Nouveau Jugendstil Arts and Crafts Jewelry Box Casket c. 1905
Located in London, GB
A beautiful art nouveau casket made by Erhard and Sohne in Germany in c. 1905. The casket is exquisitely executed with foliate detailing, made in th...
Brass
Gabriel Argy-Rousseau, Covered Box “Roses or Buttercups”, Designed in 1921
Located in Bochum, NRW
Gabriel Argy-Rousseau, a covered box “roses or buttercups”, designed in 1921. Pâte-de-verre made of clear glass and coloured glass (opaque yellow, red, green and violet) with stylise...
Art Glass
Snuff Box races miniature fire-enameled guilloche and engraved drawing Salimbeni
By Salimbeni, Franco Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Octagonal table snuffbox in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with black fired enamel inserted in a hand engraved drawing and with fired enamelled miniature, hand painted by the p...
Gold, Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
Art Nouveau Pewter Matchbox by Just Andersen, 1920s, Denmark
Located in Værløse, DK
Art Nouveau pewter matchbox made by Just Andersen in the 1920s. * Pewter matchbox with floral knop and original inner cardboard box (matches not included) * Designer: Just Andersen ...
Pewter
Diskometal Vessel by Just Andersen, 1920s, Denmark
Located in Værløse, DK
Art Nouveau diskometal casket made by Just Andersen in the 1920s. * Diskometal casket / jewellery box with floral knop and inner in wood. Original cigarette box. * Designer: Just A...
Metal
Pair of Jugendstil Hammered Brass Lidded Boxes, Germany, ca. 1910
Located in Valby, 84
Pair of Jugendstil Hammered Brass Lidded Boxes, Germany, ca. 1910 Of square form in hand-hammered patinated brass, each box with a close-fitting flat lid, the front face decorated wi...
Brass
Jugendstil Brass Jewelry Casket with Velvet Lining by Erhard & Söhne, Germany
Located in North Miami, FL
1900s Jugendstil golden and silver brass jewelry casket with blue velvet-lined interior by Erhard & Söhne, Germany By: Erhard & Söhne Material: brass, copper, metal, velvet, zinc Te...
Metal, Brass, Copper, Zinc
French Art Nouveau Wood Box Openwork Panels, circa 1900
Located in Labrit, Landes
Little wood box with openwork panels, made circa 1900 in the Art Nouveau period. A little piece of wood is missing on the back side. A. M. initial are on the top. Good antique condit...
Wood
$6,324Sale Price|30% Off
René Lalique (1860-1945) « Boite Ronde Grande Muguet » Mint Green 1921
By René Lalique
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
René Lalique (1860-1945), Mint Opalescent Glass « Boite Ronde Grande Muguet » 1921 Mint green tinted molded-pressed opalescent glass box decorated with Lily of the Valley Extremel...
Art Glass
$1,120Sale Price|20% Off
French Art Nouveau Lilac Molded Glass Jewelry Box, Attributed to Daum Nancy
By Daum
Located in Miami, FL
French Art Nouveau Lilac Molded Glass Jewelry Box, Attributed to Daum Nancy, Early 20th Century French Art Nouveau Art Glass Jewelry Box, Daum Nancy Style, French Art Nouveau Molded ...
Glass, Art Glass
Art Nouveau Pewter Box by Just Andersen, 1910s, Denmark
Located in Værløse, DK
Art Nouveau Pewter Box designed by Just Andersen in the late 1910s. * Round hammered pewter box with lid with flower knop and floral chasings * Designer: Just Andersen * Manufactur...
Pewter
Art Nouveau Celtic Hound Casket Repoussé Box by Alfred Daguet
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Note: We highly recommend shipping through 1stDibs for its cost effectiveness, full insurance coverage, and reliable handling. While standard parcel services are an option, the defau...
Enamel, Steel, Brass
Pill Box Yellow floral miniature in Art Nouveau style Sterling Silver Salimbeni
By Salimbeni, Franco Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Pill Box Yellow floral miniature in Art Nouveau style Sterling Silver Salimbeni.Round pillbox in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with translucent...
Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
Art Nouveau Lidded Oak Box with hand carved sinuous floral theme, circa 1900
Located in Lincoln, Lincolnshire
This is a good quality, hand made hardwood lidded box with a fine quality hand carved bird, together with floral themes, which we date to the late 19th C / early 20th C Art Nouveau p...
Hardwood, Oak
Rectangular pillbox in sterling silver with enamelled miniature of sailing boat
By Salimbeni, Franco Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Rectangular pill box with 2 slightly rounded sides, in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with a hand-painted miniature with fired enamels of a sailing boat by the painter Romano B...
Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
Vintage Marble Trinket Box Hand-cut with Flowers in Relief
Located in Esbjerg, DK
A fine and skillfully crafted stone trinket fashioned from slaps of natural solid marble. The lid is cut in relief with a delicate flower in green, brown and earthy natural color ton...
Marble
Art Nouveau Silver Cigarette Case, Three Beauties By The Sea, Germany, Ca. 1900
Located in Vienna, AT
Rectangular silver cigarette case in a grooved, guilloché finish with a double lid: Beneath the outer lid, a further cover featuring the finest, partly iridescent enamel painting – d...
Sterling Silver, Enamel
René Lalique Rogers Crystal Powder Box
By René Lalique
Located in Franklin Park, IL
René Lalique Rogers Crystal Powder Box This powder box measures: 5.5 wide x 5.5 deep x 2 high Excellent Condition. We take our photos in a controlled lighting studio to show as mu...
Crystal
Art Nouveau Repoussé Regal Reliquary by Alfred Daguet
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Alfred Louis Achille DAGUET (1875 - 1942) was a metalsmith active in Paris during the first part of the 20th century. His metalwork created prior to the outbreak of World War I, note...
Copper, Enamel, Steel
Antique French Art Nouveau Carved Wooden Box with Cherry Decor ca. 1900
Located in Bad Säckingen, DE
This exquisite Art Nouveau wooden box features a beautifully carved cherry motif on its lid, capturing the organic elegance typical of the early 20th century. The intricate relief wo...
Wood
Pill Box Octagonal translucent enamels on guilloché Sterling Silver Salimbeni
By Salimbeni, Renato Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Octagonal pill box in gold-plated 925/100 sterling silver with translucent enamels fired on guilloché also on all sides and with a two-tone circle on the lid. English Art Nouveau sty...
Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
Silvered metal jewelry box – Late 19th Century
Located in Beuzevillette, FR
Silvered metal jewelry box – Late 19th Century Lovely silvered metal jewelry box, French or German work, circa 1880–1910. The lid features a finely detailed high-relief scene with t...
Metal, Silver
Art Nouveau Round Trinket Box, Metal & Paint, France, 1930s
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
Charming round jewelry or trinket metal vanity box reflecting the glamour and style of the Art Deco movement and the Roaring Twenties. Originally designed to hold loose face powder o...
Metal
Table Box hand-engraved wood grain with Coral Salimbeni.
By Salimbeni, Franco Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Table Box wood style and Coral is in 925/1000 sterling silver. Table Box wood style and Coral has transparent brown fired enamel over hand-engraved wood grain. Table Box wood style a...
Sterling Silver, Enamel
French Post Office Mailbox - Cast Iron - Delachanal Model - Late 19th Century
Located in BARSAC, FR
Public mailbox of the French Post Office Model in molded cast iron manufactured by Delachanal in Paris - Late 19th Century Good general condition - presented in its original conditi...
Iron
$1,312Sale Price / set|25% Off
GERMANY 1900 Orivit Jugendstil Covered Centerpiece In Gilded Bronze With Crystal
By Orivit
Located in Miami, FL
Jugendstil Covered Centerpiece designed by Orivit in Germany. This is a beautiful and very decorative covered centerpiece created in Germany during the art-nouveau Jugendstil period...
Silver, Bronze
Gorgeous Munich Child Souvenir Metal Trinket Jewelry Box Antique German 1920s
Located in Nuernberg, DE
Beautiful Munich child souvenir trinket box, made of white metal. A beautiful nice addition to your vanity room.
Metal
Lalique Crystal ‘Duncan’ Square Trinket Box
By René Lalique
Located in Philadelphia, PA
From Lalique Crystal, a square shaped covered box in the ‘Duncan’ pattern, France, circa 1980s. The Duncan Line by René Lalique was designed in 1931. The pattern was inspired by th...
Crystal
Albert Chezal Art Nouveau Pewter Box with Lilac Decor, France circa 1910
By Etaind'art
Located in Atlanta, GA
Albert Chezal designed this stunning Art Nouveau, distinctly illustrated, dinanderie-pewter-covered box, handcrafted in France's Etains d'Art workshop around 1910. The large, hand-wr...
Metal, Pewter
Tiffany Studios Pine Needle Pattern Hankerchief Box
Located in Bronx, NY
This vintage early 20th century Tiffany Studios, New York “handkerchief” box is designed in caramel color favrile art glass with a pine needle pattern...
Brass
Antique Blackinton & Co. Art Nouveau Iris Flower Sterling Silver Matchsafe
By Tiffany & Co., R. Blackinton & Co., Gorham Manufacturing Company, Whiting Manufacturing Company
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A fine signed antique Art Nouveau silver matchsafe or vesta. By R. Blackington & Co. In sterling silver. With repousse tropical flora throughout the body and lid and a blank carto...
Sterling Silver
Antique American Art Nouveau Repousse Sterling Silver Matchsafe or Vesta
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A fine antique signed silver Art Nouveau matchsafe. In sterling silver. With repousse decoration of rocaille swags around the edges of both sides. With a striker to the base. Mar...
Sterling Silver
Pill Box slightly rounded sides enamels on guilloché Sterling Silver Salimbeni
By Franco Salimbeni, Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Square pill box with 2 slightly rounded sides, in gold-plated 925/1000 sterling silver with translucent enamels fired on guilloché. Dimensions: 4.3 x 4.5 x 2 cm. Weight: 95 g. Design...
Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
Art Nouveau Box, Hand Painted, France Circa 1920
Located in Auribeau sur Siagne, FR
This box is in wood. It is Hand painted, in black and green, color. It has been made in France circa 1920.
Wood
Art Nouveau Pewter Box by Just Andersen, 1910s, Denmark
Located in Værløse, DK
Art Nouveau Pewter Box designed by Just Andersen in the late 1910s. * Round hammered pewter box with lid with flower knop and floral chasings * Designer: Just Andersen * Manufactur...
Pewter
Fine Carved Wood Box with Morning Glories
By Maison de l'Art Nouveau
Located in Palm Desert, CA
This box is a real treasure! Completely had carved from walnut the detail in the flowers and leaves is quite remarkable. This box required a real master craftsman to achieve the outs...
Walnut
$259Sale Price|20% Off
Sardinian decorated Straw jewelry box 1930 Sardinian Art Nouveau lid
Located in Palermo, Sicily
Sardinian decorated Straw jewelry box 1930 Sardinian Art Nouveau lid
Straw
Rectangular white enamel table box with a hand-painted bouquet of flowers by Salimbeni
By Renato Salimbeni, Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Large rectangular table box in gold-plated 925/1000 sterling silver with translucent enamels fired on guilloché and a fine miniature of a bouquet of flowers hand-painted by the paint...
Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
19th C. European Shell Form Silver Coin Purse with Silver-Tone Chain
Located in Honolulu, HI
An extraordinarily rare late 19th-century European silver coin purse, sculpted in a classic Victorian scallop shell motif. Crafted from smooth, non-magnetic silver metal with a soft...
Silver
Antique Cardboard Noble Lady Present Box for Jewelry, Germany 1900s
Located in Nuernberg, DE
An attractive antique cardboard presentation box made in Germany for a jewelry shop in Fürth. The lid features a colorful illustration of a noble lady, richly detailed and evocative ...
Fabric, Paper
Vintage Black Lacquer Box, Art Nouveau Style, Mid-20th Century
Located in ARMADALE, VIC
A Vintage Black Lacquer Box Description: Features an interior paper decorated with a botanical foliage pattern. It is designed with a hinged lid for storing small items like tea bag...
Wood
Jewelry Box by Cathrine Horsbøll, Denmark, ca. 1900
Located in Valby, 84
Jewelry box of irregular oval form in solid mahogany, the gently wavy lid centred with a marquetry inlay of lighter woods and mother of pearl forming an abstract motif suggestive of ...
Mother-of-Pearl, Mahogany
$192Sale Price|30% Off
Silverplate Art Noveau Jewelry Cache
Located in Malibu, CA
Art Nouveau jewelry cache marked 937. Stunning example of Art Nouveau design. This cachet box is decorated with lovely flowers on the top and buds on the side panels. This piece refl...
Silver Plate
Table Box Enamel Sterling Silver w/ floral miniature and Blue stripes Salimbeni
By Salimbeni, Franco Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Oval table box in 925/1000 sterling silver gold-plated with fired enamels, with a fine floral miniature fired enamelled on a white background on a guilloché pattern, edge enamelled w...
Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
Halcyon Days Fine Enamel British Pillbox National History Museum of Los Angeles
By Halcyon Days
Located in San Juan Capistrano, CA
Stunning little porcelain box by Halcyon Days Enamels. The inside lid is inscribed "National History Museum of Los Angeles County 1913-1988." The bottom o...
Porcelain
Pill Box translucent enamels on guilloché all sides Sterling Silver Salimbeni
By Renato Salimbeni, Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Octagonal pill box in gold-plated 925/100 sterling silver with translucent enamels fired on guilloché also on all sides and with a line on the lid. English Art Nouveau style, early 1...
Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel