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.
Ionic Column Candlestick Made with Marble Powder No:II Candleholder
By LAGU
Located in İSTANBUL, TR
Weight: 700 gr This candlestick is a decorative item that resembles the thin, long and elegant form of Ionic regular columns found on the western and southern coasts...
Statuary Marble
Ionic Column Candlestick Made with Compressed Marble Powder No:2
By LAGU
Located in İSTANBUL, TR
Weight: 700 gr This candlestick is a decorative item that resembles the thin, long and elegant form of Ionic regular columns found on the western and southern coasts of Anatolia. ...
Statuary Marble
$2,750 / set
Scavo Glass Candleholders by Cenedese
By Cenedese, Cenedese Scavo, Murano Glass Sommerso
Located in W Allenhurst, NJ
Highly decorative, this amazing grouping in beautiful Scavo glass show irregular patches of textured scavo technique. Coloring is a vivid turquoise, pink and white with white dusty f...
Murano Glass
Ionic Column Candlestick Made with Compressed Marble Powder No:1
By LAGU
Located in İSTANBUL, TR
Weight: 700 gr Ionic regular columns, born on the western and southern coasts of Anatolia, have a thin, long and elegant form. This Ionic column candlestick...
Statuary Marble
$456Sale Price / set|20% Off
Corinthian Column Candleholder 'Set of 2' Compressed Marble Powder Statue
By LAGU
Located in İSTANBUL, TR
Weight: 2,5 kg *There are 2 pieces in this set. -Produced from pressed marble powder. -Produced from the original molds of the works from the museum. -Can be used indoors and outdoo...
Statuary Marble
Corinthian Column Candlestick Made with Compressed Marble Powder Statue
By LAGU
Located in İSTANBUL, TR
Weight: 2,5 kg -Produced from pressed marble powder. -Produced from the original molds of the works from the museum. -Can be used indoors and outdoors. Columns named after the anci...
Statuary Marble
Corinthian Column Candlestick 'Set of 2' Compressed Marble Powder Statue
By LAGU
Located in İSTANBUL, TR
Weight: 2,5 kg *There are 2 pieces in this set. -Produced from pressed marble powder. -Produced from the original molds of the works from the museum. -Can be used indoors and outdoo...
Statuary Marble
Corinthian Candleholder Column Made with Compressed Marble Powder Statue
By LAGU
Located in İSTANBUL, TR
Weight: 2,5 kg -Produced from pressed marble powder. -Produced from the original molds of the works from the museum. -Can be used indoors and outdoors. ...
Statuary Marble
Pair of French Restoration Period Candlesticks of Patinated Bronze
Located in Dallas, TX
Pair of French restoration period candlesticks of patinated bronze and gilt bronze with figures of Atlas supporting a flower bobeche and etched glass hurricane. The bases are in sien...
Marble, Bronze
Italian Murano Blue Scavo Vase Roman Style Italian Art Glass
By Seguso Vetri d'Arte, Cenedese, Archimede Seguso, Franco Moretti, Cenedese Scavo
Located in Bad Säckingen, DE
This vintage Murano Scavo vase in cobalt blue captures the essence of Italian glass artistry. The Scavo technique gives it a weathered, ancient look, reminiscent of artifacts from an...
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
Mid-Century Modern Translucent Glass Doric Column Candlesticks
Located in New York, NY
This elegant pair of Mid-Century Modern candlesticks was realized in the United States, circa 1960. Modeled after the Doric columns of ancient Greece, the piece offers a circular bas...
Glass
Marble Scalloped Sink Basin
Located in Cranbrook, Kent
Classical Italian scalloped sink basin cut from one single block of Carrara marble. Custom sizes available
Marble
$17,416
H 31.3 in Dm 18.9 in
Large Antique Victorian Silver 7 Light Candelabra 1895 Corinthian Candlestick
Located in London, GB
An impressive Antique Victorian Sterling Silver 7 Light Candelabra in a classic Corinthian Column style. This magnificent Silver Candelabra is of notably large size. (Shown with a st...
Sterling Silver
Art Deco Corinthian Column Candlesticks in Pewter, Sweden 1920s
Located in Esbjerg, DK
A pair of candleholders in patinated pewter. Fluted design derived from Corinthian Columns. This design resembles the style of Sylvia Stage and Just Andersen. Made in Sweden during t...
Pewter
Georgian Sterling Silver Column Candlesticks (1803)
By George Eadon & Co ( Eadon, Kibbles & John Weaver ) 1
Located in Jesmond, Newcastle Upon Tyne
A magnificent, exceptional, fine and impressive, pair of large antique Georgian English sterling silver architectural column candlesticks; part of our ornamental silverware collection. These magnificent antique Georgian English sterling silver candlesticks have a plain subtly tapering columnar form. The large and impressive Corinthian capital of each candlestick retains the original hallmarked detachable push fit sconce ornamented with a plain moulded rim. The cylindrical columns are supported by a cuboid plinth to an impressive plain square stepped three tier base. Each plinth is embellished with a fine and impressive bright cut engraved coat of arms depicting the Head family coat of arms encircled with a belt accented with the family motto 'Study Quiet'. The bases retain the original contemporary engraved inscription 'A token of respect from Francis Head to her aunt Dame Mary Ann Head. 1803' to the lowest tier. Both candlesticks are fitted with turned mahogany bases to the underside. These magnificent Georgian candlesticks were crafted by George Eadon, George Kibbles & John Weaver of George Eadon & Co. The title ‘Dame’ was the traditional style for the wife of a baronet at this time and before although it was interchangeable with the title ‘Lady’. Condition These antique Georgian candlesticks...
Silver, Sterling Silver
English Garden Stone Bird Bath with Baluster Column Base
Located in Austin, TX
A fine English bird bath (or birdbath) of composition stone, featuring a 22 inch diameter basin top (circular) set upon a Classical baluster pedestal column and raised square plinth ...
Cast Stone
$2,250 / set
H 9 in W 3.75 in D 3.75 in
Tall Sterling Corinthian Column Candlesticks Sheffield, 1899 William Hutton
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Elegant Pair of Tall Sterling Silver Corinthian Column Candlesticks by William Hutton & Sons, Sheffield, 1899 An impressive pair of 9" tall sterling silver candlesticks...
Sterling Silver
Scandinavian Wooden Candleholders, Set of 6
Located in KUTNO, PL
This set of Scandinavian wooden candle holders is a perfect example of the simplicity and natural beauty that characterize Scandinavian design. Made of wood, often from light species...
Wood
Cónico Black Marble Carved Candleholder Set
Located in Mexico City, MX
Two candleholders in Monterrey black marble. Handmade in México by local craftsmen. Dimensions: Small: 10 D x 10 W x 10 H cm Large: 6 D x 6 W x 15 H cm. Production time: 6-8 wee...
Marble
$1,200 / set
H 7.5 in W 3.25 in D 3.25 in
Pair of Neoclassical-Style Sterling Silver Corinthian Column Candlesticks
By Gorham Manufacturing Company
Located in New York, NY
Pair of Neoclassical-Style, sterling silver Corinthian column candlesticks, Gorham Manufacturing Company, Providence, Rhode Island, Ca 1915. Each candlestick measures almost 7 1/2 in...
Sterling Silver
1960s Modernist Purple Scavo Murano Glass Vase by Cenedese
By Cenedese
Located in Aci Castello, IT
This elegant and striking modernist vase is a testament to the innovative artistry of the Cenedese glassworks on Murano. Dating from the 1960s, this piece features a sophisticated pu...
Murano Glass
Neoclassical Brass Corinthian Column Candlesticks, Pair
Located in Elkhart, IN
A gorgeous pair of Neoclassical style brass corinthian column candle holders Circa Mid-20th Century Measures: 4.25"W x 4.25"D x 8.38"H. Goo...
Brass
Classical Dolphin Form Cobalt Glass Candlesticks, 20th C
Located in Big Flats, NY
A pair of figural candlesticks offer molded cobalt art glass construction in dolphin form, 20th century. Measures - 8''H x 4.5''W x 4.5''D. Catalogue Note...
Glass
Sold
H 18.75 in W 7 in D 7 in
Pair of Italian Porcelain Griffin Push-Up Candlesticks with Beaded Shades
Located in San Francisco, CA
Finely crafted Porcellane d'Arte from Bassano del Grappa, Italy; hand painted, porcelain, urn crowned Griffin sculptures on gold painted bases as pu...
Brass
Midcentury Murano Glass Column Candlestick, Signed Cenedese, Venice, 1950s
By Cenedese
Located in St Annes, Lancashire
A beautiful frosted glass column candlestick that can be easily converted to a lamp Wonderful color of turquoise. Signed on the base "Cenedese" Venice, Italy, 1950s.
Glass
Grouping of Six Large Scavo Glass Candleholders by Cenedese, Signed
By Cenedese
Located in North Miami, FL
Highly decorative, this amazing grouping in beautiful Scavo glass show irregular patches of textured scavo technique. Coloring is a vivid turquoise with white dusty finish. Sold only...
Murano Glass
Pair of Wedgwood Style "Dudson" Green Jasperware Candlesticks
Located in Ottawa, Ontario
A pair of Wedgwood style "Dudson" green jasperware candlesticks, late 19th century, Decorated with applied white classical figures and foliate ...
Other
Antique French Gilt Bronze Napoleon III Style Classical Column Candlesticks
Located in Big Flats, NY
Pair of antique French Napoleon III style candle sticks feature cast gilt bronze in Roman or Grecian Corinthian column form with foliate decorated base and capital and reeded stem, 1...
Bronze