There is rare surviving furniture from ancient Greece, yet this classical style has informed design for centuries. Interiors of houses in antiquity were minimal, with much of a room’s color coming from frescoes on the walls and mosaics on the floors. Classical Greek furniture was sparing but finely crafted and influenced by Egyptian furniture design through Mediterranean trade.
Furnishings of the period were usually made from local wood like cypress, cedar, oak and willow from ancient Greece’s plentiful forests, although some pieces were carved from marble, such as a 300–200 B.C. throne with lion legs and a curved back now at the Getty Villa. Comfort and clean lines characterized designs during the Classical era, the symmetry and thoughtful proportions reflecting the architecture of Greek temples.
Some pieces of ancient Greek furniture were simple, rectangular platforms like the klinē, a multipurpose ancestor of today’s couches or daybeds that held cushions stuffed with wool, dry grass or down. These structures were used for both sleeping and dining, which wealthy Greeks did while reclining. At night, oil lamps illuminated rooms that frequently surrounded a garden courtyard.
Most of what scholars have learned about Greek furniture design owes to its representations in art like vases and stelae. The portable diphros stool, with its backless design and four turned legs, was one of the more common types of seating in daily Greek life — it appears as such for the gods on the Parthenon frieze. Stools without backs have been found in early Roman tombs, while benches were also common Greek seating furniture created for use in theaters. In houses of the Hellenistic period, benches seemingly functioned as tables, too.
Some designs evolved through adaptations by the Romans, including the klismos chair. After prominent archaeological excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum, the klismos chair — with its four saber legs and the elegant curves that define its back — was a source of inspiration for aesthetics in eras ranging from 18th-century neoclassicism to 20th-century Art Deco.
Find a collection of Classical Greek decorative objects, wall decorations and building and garden elements on 1stDibs.
Black with 24K Gold Porcelain Jar with Lid Made in Greece by Spyropoulos 1960s
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Vintage I Spyropoulos Handmade in Greece black and 24K Gold Finish Porcelain Jar with Lid. Vintage handmade in Greece Black and 24k Gold Trinket Porcelain Dish with Lid. Greek Mythol...
Porcelain
$4,000Sale Price|20% Off
Greek Style Engraved and Chased Gold Tone Metal Large Pyxis
Located in Guaynabo, PR
This is a Greek style engraved and chased gold tone metal large Pyxis ( a cylindrical vessel/box with a lid that can be made of wood, ivory or metal). In the ancient times, it was mo...
Metal
Vintage Ceramic Baby Blue Decorative Covered Dish with Lid and White Figures
By Wedgwood
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
A round ceramic bright baby blue covered dish with a lid. This piece is round and features a figurative Mediterranean scene in white on top of a bright baby blue glazed background. T...
Ceramic, Paint
Classical 19th Century Gilded Ormolu Embossed Tea Caddy
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A wonderful fine quality 19th century classical embossed tea caddy, having Bacchus like scenes of children playing, a goat and horse and much jollity. Elkington style.
Ormolu
Willy Guhl Concrete Box with Lid, 1960s Switzerland
By Willy Guhl
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Sculptural concrete crate by Willy Guhl. Handmade in Switzerland, in the 1960s. Rounded rectangular frame with indented ridge. With matching removable lid/cover. Great for outside st...
Cement
English 19th Century Rosewood Tea Caddy
Located in Baton Rouge, LA
An extraordinary English Regency tea caddy from the 19th century made of rosewood, exhibiting the gorgeous color and grain the wood is prized for. This angular shaped box has a slope...
Tin
19th Century Chinese Export Lacquer Tea Caddy
Located in Mt Kisco, NY
The burgundy / brown lacquer is decorated with gold depicting figures and buildings in a landscape. The caddy stands on four carved wooden feet in the shape of claws. The interior contains a single pewter canister...
Paper
Oval 24k Gold Plated Pierced Glass Footed Jewelry Box with Lid
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
A fabulous way to display your favorite pieces of jewelry. This oval footed jewelry box is plated in 24K gold. It features pierced sides and a glass...
Metal, Gold, Gold Plate
Music Play Box, Around 1960s, Made in Switzerland
Located in Wien, AT
Music play box, around 1960s, made in Switzerland. Wood inlays. Plays " Love story " Music Hight when open: 19cm.
Wood
$1,995
H 6.25 in W 3.25 in D 0.5 in
Large Antique Komai Style Japanese Damascene Cigarillo, Cigar or Cigarette Case
Located in Hamilton, Ontario
This large antique damascene styled tobacco case is unsigned, but presumed to have originated from Japan and dating to approximately 1920 and done in a Anglo-Japanese style. The case...
Metal
Post World War II South African Hebrew Inscribed Metal School Supply Box
Located in New York, NY
Metal school supply box sent by the South Africa Jewish Wars Appeal to the Wels displaced persons (DP) camp in Austria, 1947. Painted blue and white with th...
Metal
Large Gilt Bronze Feuille Box by Line Vautrin
By Line Vautrin
Located in Atlanta, GA
A large cast bronze powder box (poudrier) by French Parisian art jeweler Line Vautrin (1913-1997) circa 1945-1950. The box called "Feuille" (Leaf) features an irregular leaf form wit...
Bronze
Large Folk Art Wood 4 Drawer Jewelry Box Chest of Drawers
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
Folk Art Jewelry Box or Miniature Tabletop Sized Chest of Drawers. This vintage wood piece with four drawers has lots of character and patina. Each drawer features a hand painted lea...
Wood, Paint
Decorative Box with lid, Vintage Wooden Brown Jewellery Box, Hand Carved
Located in Wembley, GB
A handmade wooden jewellery box with a lid and lock, it is perfectly designed and created in a suitable size for keeping valuables inside. The top of this box has leaf patterns and l...
Papercord, Boxwood, Driftwood
$4,381
H 0.75 in W 3.63 in D 1.89 in
Cigarette Case Black and White Art Deco Style Fire Enamel Salimbeni
By Salimbeni, Franco Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Ladies’ cigarette case rectangular convex “olive” shape in 925/1000 sterling silver with black and white fire enamel with Art Deco style design. With “lost” hinge, that is semi-invis...
Sterling Silver, Enamel
$1,043Sale Price|20% Off
H 5.91 in W 12.41 in D 6.11 in
Antique 19th Century Victorian Quality Rosewood Tea Caddy
Located in Suffolk, GB
Antique 19th Century Victorian quality rosewood tea caddy having a lift up top opening to reveal a fitted interior with a pair of lidded tea boxes and a glass mixing bowl. In lovely...
Other
Sold
H 4 in W 23.75 in D 12 in
Antique Oversized Hand-Carved Incolay Stone Classical Cameo Jewelry Box
Located in Big Flats, NY
Antique oversized jewelry box features hand-carved incolay stone construction with four reserves with full length portrait cameos of Classical women, int...
Stone