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.
Magnificent French 19th Century Mantel Clock, Victor Paillard, Paris
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A magnificent 19th century bronze mantel clock depicting allegorical figures representing Geography and literature. The white enamel clock face, Roman numerals, an eight day duration...
Bronze
Ariadne and the Panther Bronze After Johann Heinrich Dannecker, Mantel Clock
Located in Toronto, CA
A lovely, solid bronze mantel clock depicting Ariadne and the Panther, after the famous sculpture by Johann Heinrich Dannecker (1758-1841). Here the princess Ariadne, wife of Dionysi...
Bronze
$16,326 / set
19th Century French Pink Marble and Ormolu Clock Set
Located in London, GB
19th Century French pink marble and ormolu clock set French, Late 19th Century Clock: Height 46cm, width 23cm, depth 18cm Candelabra: Height 44.5cm, width 22cm, depth 20cm This unusual three-piece clock garniture combines stunning pink marble with ormolu classicised decoration. Featuring ornate pierced gilt brass hands, the porcelain dial of the mantel clock is framed with a floral motif that complements the tones of the marble. The clock is covered with elegant gilt-bronze classical decoration: surmounting the dial is an ormolu torch and laurel...
Marble, Brass, Ormolu
Neoclassical Style Gilt Bronze, Enamel and Lapis Lazuli Mantel Clock
Located in London, GB
This Grecian style mantel clock was crafted at the end of the 19th century and retailed by the acclaimed Maison Marnyhac, which was based on the Rue de la Paix in Paris. Founded ...
Lapis Lazuli, Bronze, Enamel
French 19th Century Bronze & Marble Mantel Clock Set
Located in Baton Rouge, LA
A captivating three-piece mantel clock, from 19th century France, crafted in Siena marble and gilt bronze, with multiple stylistic reference points from the Grand Tour of Europe. The...
Marble, Bronze
Late 19th Century French Gilt Metal Mantel Clock
Located in Cheshire, GB
Late 19th-century French gilt metal mantel clock, surmounted with a classical figure, opposing a white enamel Roman numeral drum dial striking on a ...
Metal
Renaissance Style Gilt Bronze and Enamel Mantel Clock
Located in London, GB
Renaissance style gilt bronze and enamel mantel clock French, late 19th century Measures: Height 53cm, width 28cm, depth 23cm This exquisite mantel clock is crafted in the idios...
Ormolu, Bronze, Enamel
19th Century Black Forest Mantel Clock
Located in Martlesham, GB
A lovely quality 19th century black forest mantle clock, the clock dial located at the centre within a farmyard scene consisting of a cockere...
Walnut
$59,700 / set
H 32 in W 16 in D 12 in
French 19th Century Louis XVI Style Rouge Griotte Marble and Ormolu Clock Set
Located in New York, NY
A Magnificent Large Antique French 19th Century Ormolu and Rouge Griotte marble clock set of exquisite craftsmanship. This spectacular clock set is comprising a pair of very large ni...
Griotte Marble, Bronze
$61,226
H 24.81 in W 10.44 in D 10.44 in
Antique French Gilt Bronze and Lapis Lazuli Mantel Clock after Falconet
Located in London, GB
French sculptor Etienne-Maurice Falconet (1716-1791) is the inspiration for this beautiful, sumptuous mantel clock. His clock, crafted in the late 18th Century and now on display at the Louvre Museum, caused such a stir when it was exhibited over 100 years later, at the Great Exhibition in Paris in 1900 that one reviewer claimed that it "attracted so much admiration from the crowds gathered around that the pressure was sufficient at times to endanger its safety." As well as this famed 'Three Graces...
Lapis Lazuli, Ormolu, Bronze
19th Century French Bronze and Ormolu Clock
By Claude Galle
Located in Scottsdale, AZ
19th Century French Bronze and Ormolu Clock. circa 1810 clock Napoleonic Empire Bronze Dore. La Liseuse" clock after Reiche, by Claude Galle & Grand Girad. Signed in Paris
Bronze
Antique French Louis XV Style Gilt Bronze Mantel Clock
Located in New York, NY
very fine quality Antique French Louis XV Style Gilt Bronze Mantel Clock
Bronze
Bronze Ansonia "The Composer " Figural Mantel Clock
Located in Tarry Town, NY
Bronze Ansonia " The Composer" figural mantel clock, with a seated figure surmounted on a Rococo style base. Clock is signed 4-inch porcelain dial with Roman numerals and stamped ste...
Bronze
19th Century French Neoclassical Mantel Clock with Ormalu
Located in Atlanta, GA
A large Neoclassical mantle clock in brass with ormalu mounts, urn and swag detail. William Word Fine Antiques: Atlanta's source for antique in...
Brass
$10,795Sale Price|20% Off
H 26 in W 15.75 in D 7 in
French Empire Period Marble and Ormolu Clock, Early 19th Century
Located in Hamilton, Ontario
Early 19th century French Empire period marble and ormolu clock. French Carrara marble Portico clock with extensive ormolu fretwork mounted on two finely decorated marble columns ...
French Empire Style Gilt bronze and Green Marble Mantel Clock
Located in Montreal, QC
This fine clock has much to recommend it. The bronze mounts are gilt ; the green marble is Verde Antico ; the glass panels are bevelled ; the pendulum is gilt and engine-turned. It i...
Marble, Bronze
Sold
H 16.25 in W 21.25 in D 8 in
Antique Classical Bronzed Figural & Slate Ansonia Mantle Clock, Circa 1890
Located in Big Flats, NY
An antique figural mantel clock by Ansonia offers bronzed Classical Woman seated on an ornate stool and holding a horn beside a clock having a panier de f...
Slate, Metal
Sold
H 22 in W 16 in D 7 in
Antique French GS Medaille D'Or Champleve Mantel Clock with Bronze by Bouret
By Georges Emile Henri Servant
Located in Big Flats, NY
Georges Henri Emille Servant (1828-1890) figural clock surmounted with associated gilt bronze sculpture Siddende Ung Kvinde med Skrin (from Dutch "Seated Young Woman with Box&qu...
Marble, Bronze
Antique Ansonia Bronzed Classical Figural Mantel Clock, circa 1880
Located in Big Flats, NY
Elegant antique bronzed white metal Ansonia mantel clock features a stunning classical woman seated beside a list of playwrights and philosophers,...
Bronze
Antique Ansonia Bronzed White Metal Figural Mantel Clock, circa 1880
Located in Big Flats, NY
Elegant antique Ansonia bronzed white metal mantel clock features a stunning classical male seated with armor, sword, and helmet, circa 1880. Exposed g...
Bronze