Like France’s Empire style, Regency-style furniture was rooted in neoclassicism; the characteristics of its bedroom furniture, armchairs, dining room tables and other items include clean lines, angular shapes and elegant details.
Dating roughly from the 1790s to 1830s, antique Regency-style furniture gets its name from Prince George of Wales — formally King George IV — who became Prince Regent in 1811 after his father, George III, was declared unfit to rule. England’s Regency style is one of the styles represented in Georgian furniture.
George IV’s arts patronage significantly influenced the development of the Regency style, such as the architectural projects under John Nash, which included the renovation of Buckingham House into the formidable Buckingham Palace with a grand neoclassical facade. Celebrated designers of the period include Thomas Sheraton, Henry Holland and Thomas Hope. Like Nash, Hope instilled his work with classical influences, such as saber-legged chairs based on the ancient Greek klismos. He is credited with introducing the term “interior decoration” to English with the 1807 publishing of Household Furniture and Interior Decoration.
Although more subdued than previous styles like Rococo and Baroque, Regency interiors incorporated copious use of chintz fabrics and wallpaper adorned in chinoiserie-style art. Its furniture featured fine materials and luxurious embellishments. Furniture maker George Bullock, for instance, regularly used detailed wood marquetry and metal ornaments on his pieces.
Archaeological discoveries in Egypt and Greece informed Regency-era details, such as carved scrollwork, sphinxes and palmettes, as well as the shape of furniture. A Roman marble cinerary chest, for example, would be reinterpreted into a wooden cabinet. The Napoleonic Wars also inspired furniture, with martial designs like tented beds and camp-style chairs becoming popular. While the reddish-brown mahogany was prominent in this range of pieces, imported woods like zebrawood and ebony were increasingly in demand.
Find a collection of antique Regency tables, seating, decorative objects and other furniture on 1stDibs.
$16,244 / set
Rare Pair of Regency Temple Candlesticks
Located in Steyning, West sussex
A rare pair of Regency temple of love candlesticks unusually on marble bases with five glass columns supporting diamond cut eggs, drip pans and candle nozzles hung with double cut st...
Marble
Regency Rosewood and Brass Candlestick Riser
Located in Essex, MA
Circular top with gallery over a spiral reeded support and circular molded base. Provenance Stair & Co.
Rosewood
Vintage Regency Brass Dog Candlesticks - A Pair
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
This exquisite pair of vintage brass candlesticks showcases elegant regency-style craftsmanship, featuring intricately cast dog motifs resting on solid marble bases. The detailed aca...
Marble, Brass
Vintage Regency Polychrome Monkey Candlestick
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Add whimsical sophistication to your space with this Vintage Regency Polychrome Monkey Candlestick. Crafted with exquisite detail, this unique piece features a stately monkey figure ...
Metal
Antique Pair of Bronze and Ormolu Cherub Candlesticks
Located in London, GB
A Pair of early 19th century bronze & ormolu Candlesticks in the form of well-cast Cherubs holding cornucopia branches surmounted by beaded & engine-turned sconces raised on marble c...
Marble, Bronze, Ormolu
Pair of 19th Century Regency Period Bronze and Ormolu Candlesticks
Located in London, GB
A pair of early 19th Century Bronze and Ormolu candlesticks having urn shaped sconces above boldly cast bulbous stems, raised on triple Lions paw feet ending on triform bases.
Bronze, Ormolu
A pair of Regency period bronze and ormolu Griffin lustres
Located in London, GB
A pair of early 19th Century Regency period bronze & ormolu Lustre Candlesticks, having floral sconces above leaf frond canopies raised on triple griffin supports ending on stepped c...
Bronze, Ormolu
Pair of 19th Century White Marble and Bronze and Ormolu Candlesticks
Located in London, GB
A pair of early 19th Century bronze & ormolu Candlesticks in the form of cherubs holding engine-turned & leaf decorated sconces flanked by scrolled arms, supported on white marble cylinder plinths...
Marble, Bronze, Ormolu
Regency bronze and ormolu classical lady lustre candlesticks
Located in London, GB
A fine pair of early 19th century Regency period bronze and ormolu Lustre candlesticks having palm leaf decorated sconces and engine turned nozzles ...
Ormolu, Bronze
19th Century English Regency Ormolu and Porcelain Figural Candlestick
Located in Queens, NY
English Regency-style (Late 19th Century) ormolu mounted porcelain candlestick (one) in the form of kneeling Chinese figures holding an urn.
Porcelain
$37,904 / set
Pair Regency Period Bronzed Giltwood Torchères
Located in Lymington, GB
A fine and rare pair of English Regency period torchères, or stands (or candle stands) in the manner of Thomas Hope. Circa 1810. Both are raised on tapering simulated-bronze column supports with circular tops and fluted gilt collars, on concave-sided triform bases with winged-panther mask monopodia. The column bases issue from spreading, gilded, carved lotuses. These antique torcheres might also be referred to as columns, ornamental stands, candle sticks, or candelabra. In superb condition throughout. Literature: ‘Thomas Hope – Regency Designer’ ed. David Watkin & Philip Hewat-Jaboor, Yale University Press, New Haven and London (2008). The Aurora Room, Duchess Street, photo from V & A Museum, fig. 68-1, p. 378. The Royal Collection, HM Queen Elizabeth II, RCIN 588- 1-2, 45- 1-2, figs. 78-2, 78-3, p. 396. The Faringdon Collection, Buscot Park, Oxfordshire, illustr. 88, p. 414. The pair of stands we are offering here correspond closely to the pair in the Faringdon Collection (see above). Watkin and Hewat-Jaboor state; ‘’A ‘Roman’ stand of this precise design, perhaps an imaginative variation on one published by Visconti*, is illustrated in ‘Household Furniture’, plate L, number 2… Hope also owned several classical Roman candelabra...
Giltwood
Vintage Regency Faceted Polished Brass Candlesticks - a Pair
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A sensational pair of vintage Regency candlesticks. Beautiful mirror polished brass with a chic faceted design. Acquired from a Palm Beach estate.
Brass
$8,054 / set
A Pair Of Regency Ormolu & Cut Glass Cassoletts
Located in Steyning, West sussex
A pair of regency cassolettes on white marble bases mounted with ormolu bands, supporting three bronzed ram legs terminating with ram heads, These mounted to central ormolu band fitt...
Marble, Ormolu
Pair of English Regency Ormolu Chinoiserie Candlesticks
Located in London, GB
A very attractive true pair of antique English Regency ormolu chinoiserie candlesticks. In the form of oriental women holding up a single cand...
Ormolu
Regency period bronze and ormolu gothic candlesticks
Located in London, GB
A pair of early 19th century Regency period bronze and ormolu Gothic decorated candlesticks, having triple flame candle holders raised on baluster stems ending in engine turned circu...
Ormolu, Bronze