After the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in the eighth century, Islamic Spain became a cultural mix of influences that shaped both private homes and religious spaces. Moorish design was the name given to this style, which evolved through the 15th century with vibrant tile work, horseshoe arches and lavish ornamentation, most visible at sites such as Granada’s Alhambra and the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba. Moorish furniture was often similarly ornate, and featured pieces inlaid with wood, ivory and bone.
When European designers began studying Moorish art and architecture in the early 19th century, it led to a Moorish Revival. Appropriating the style’s decorative flourishes and architectural elements, it promoted a romantic view of Islamic design. Travelers could bring home a memento of what they witnessed in the Middle East, a trend that aligned with a fad for themed interiors. Men’s smoking rooms arranged with ottomans, divans and settees and inlaid tables were especially popular, as were cafés where coffee was served amid bead curtains and colorful floor mats. (Handwoven rugs are a centerpiece of Moorish interiors.) Octagonal rooms with domed ceilings were created for wealthy homes, frequently with furnishings like pipe stands, filigree plasterwork and arched doorways. The horseshoe arch is an iconic attribute of Moorish architecture that, in addition to Spain, can be found in Sicily, Morocco and elsewhere.
Several late 19th to early 20th-century movements featured Moorish touches. The American and English Aesthetic Movement, for example, borrowed liberally from global decorating styles, as seen in furniture designed by Lockwood de Forest, a New York-born artist who mixed Eastern and Western forms. The visual vocabulary of Art Nouveau also references the elegant use of geometry in Moorish design, with Milanese Art Nouveau furniture designer Carlo Bugatti drawing inspiration from the style. The Arts and Crafts movement, which prized expressive yet simple design, incorporated Moorish influences; hand-painted furniture and tile work created by William De Morgan, a British designer and potter who made furnishings for the likes of Morris & Co., were informed by techniques from Moorish Spain.
Find a collection of Moorish lighting, decorative objects, folk art and more furniture on 1stDibs.
Fine 19th C. French Bronze Clock Garniture, Champlevé Enameled in Moorish Taste
Located in New York, NY
Exceptional quality bronze mounted Champlevé enamel 5 piece garniture set in Moorish style, French late 19th century. The clock signed Antony Bailly,...
Bronze, Enamel
19th Century French Ormolu Mantle Clock in Orientalist Motif
Located in Nantucket, MA
19th Century French Ormolu Mantle Clock in "Orientalist" Motif, circa 1850, a romantic movement/Orientalist ormolu clock with ornate baroque case surmounted by an Arabic rider on rearing steed, with sabre drawn overhead, an enamel dial with Roman numerals, bell-strike mechanism by F.L. Hausburg, Paris, and marked on dial "Medaille d'Argent, Vincenti and Cie...
Ormolu
Antique French Orientalist/Moorish Silver/Gilt Bronze and Enamel Figural Clock
Located in New York, NY
A very unusual 19th century antique French orientalist/Moorish silvered bronze, gilt bronze and champleve enamel figural clock, signed Boulez, marks on movement ROBLIN & FILS FRERES,...
Silver, Enamel
Belle Époque Period Ormolu and Porcelain Mantel Clock in Moorish Style
Located in London, GB
This beautiful clock, formed from gilt bronze and porcelain, is designed and decorated in a discernibly Moorish style. The clock is supported by a flat shaped gilt bronze base, the base supporting four gilt bronze columns that support the gilt bronze clock drum. The cylindrical drum contains a circular dial, the dial of porcelain and inscribed with Roman numerals. The gilt bronze throughout is cast and chased with geometrical motifs—particularly evident on the front of the four vertical columns. These motifs are distinctively Moorish in scheme, the lattice-type geometrical sequences recalling Islamic decorative...
Ormolu, Bronze
Meissen porcelain 19th century mantle clock.
Located in Brighton, Sussex
An impressive 19th Century Meissen porcelain mantle clock on stand. Depicting seated lovers with a garland of flowers. The white enamel clock face ...
Porcelain
$10,800Sale Price / set|28% Off
H 21.5 in W 11 in D 7 in
Tiffany & Co. Ormulu Bronze Champlevé Enamel Mantel Clock Garniture
Located in Guaynabo, PR
Tiffany's clock case with enamel roman numbers and bronze snake dials. At the top, the clock is adorned with an Indian palace gallery and dome that has a crane finial over it and dragon head legs. The rectangular clock...
Bronze, Enamel
Antique Enameled Gilt Bronze Carriage Clock
Located in London, GB
The contrast between rich blue enamel, in light and dark hues, and bright gilt bronze gives this carriage clock a sumptuous, luxurious feel. With a t...
Enamel, Ormolu, Bronze
French 19th Century Mantle Clock
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A very good quality French late 19th century gilded ormolu and champleve enamel mantel (fireplace) clock. Having urns and a cherub above the eight day clock that chimes...
Enamel, Ormolu
Table Clock, Ormolu, 19th Century
Located in Madrid, ES
Table clock made of gilded bronze with a powerful base, enhanced with legs decorated with vegetal and architectural motifs of classicist inspiration and a series of details on the fr...
Bronze
French 19th Century Ormolu Cartel Wall Clock
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A good quality 19th century French gilded ormolu wall clock, having Rococo influences to the scroll foliate decoration and cherubs above the eight day striking movement, circa 1880.
Ormolu
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
Mid-19th Century French Slate & Marble Mantle Clock
Located in Chapel Hill, NC
Mid-19th century French slate & marble mantle clock. Drum head form. Black slate & green, black & white marble. Made by P. Marti et Cie. 8-day movement. History of clock repairs on b...
Marble, Slate
Louis XVI Style Ormolu and Alabaster Mantel Clock
Located in Astoria, NY
Louis XVI Style Ormolu and Alabaster Portico Mantel Clock, late 19th century, the circular enamel dial, with strike on bell movement, surmounted by an urn and supported by four flute...
Alabaster, Enamel, Ormolu
Antique Cloisonne Enamel and Gilt Bronze Clock Set
Located in London, GB
This wonderful cloisonne enamel clock set is an artful piece of design in the neoclassical style: each piece is elaborately applied with turquoi...
Ormolu, Bronze, Enamel
$44,500
H 21.5 in W 12 in D 6 in
A Restauration Period Porcelain Inset Ormolu Mantel Clock, Attributed to Deniere
Located in Long Island City, NY, NY
A Restauration Period Paris Porcelain Inset Ormolu Mantel Clock, Attributed to Jean François Denière, circa 1820 to 1830 A refined and architecturally composed Restauration period m...
Bronze, Ormolu
Antique Gilt Bronze and Champlevé Enamel Clock Set
Located in London, GB
This beautiful clock set, which comprises of a mantel clock and a pair of vases, was designed in France in circa 1870 in a wonderful Renaissance Revival style. The set has been craft...
Ormolu, Bronze, Enamel
Antique French Empire Moorish Revival Style Bronze Mantel Clock
Located in New York, NY
A finely crafted French gilt and patinated bronze mantel clock in the Empire style made for the Islamic market, dating from late 19th to early 20th century, with portico case with go...
Bronze
Moorish Mantel Clock by Tiffany & Co.
Located in New Orleans, LA
An incredible example of American clockmaking, this Tiffany & Co. mahogany and gilt bronze mantel clock is a shining example of the firm's outstanding artistry in decorative metalwor...
Bronze