It was unexpected that, at the age of 64, William IV was crowned king of England. He had two older brothers, yet the death of Prince Frederick put him in line for the British throne when George IV died in 1830. His reign was brief, as he died on June 20, 1837, but it was a pivotal time of change, with parliamentary reform leading to the present-day constitutional monarchy. Antique William IV–style furniture reflects this period of transition, with forms that bridged the neoclassicism of the preceding Regency style and the more extravagant Victorian style that would follow.
Inspired by ancient Greece and Rome, William IV designs were often more imposing than Regency furniture and featured decorative attributes. There were sofas balanced on lion’s feet and tables with brass fittings. But furnishings of this period were largely marked by straight lines and subdued ornamentation compared to those of the George IV era. William IV had an unassuming way about him and was much more formal, whereas the ruler who preceded him was a king of extravagance. George IV had an affinity for French decor and was heavily invested in overhauling the private residences at Windsor Castle.
Carvings on William IV four-poster beds and cabinets included scrolling shapes, lotus leaves and acanthus, while popular pieces like tilt-top tables and upholstered seating on caster legs provided flexible interiors. Richly toned woods like mahogany and rosewood were used for sideboards, bedposts boasting reeded details and dining chairs with intricate chair backs and turned front legs.
William IV left no legitimate heirs, so his young niece, Victoria, became queen. She would lead an era of taste in which the innovations of the Industrial Revolution allowed for manufacturing showier furniture to fill elaborate interiors. With its comparatively refined forms and restrained designs, William IV style was a pause before a time of radical aesthetic change.
Find a collection of authentic William IV tables, armchairs, decorative objects and other 19th-century furniture and antiques on 1stDibs.
William IV Double Fusee Skeleton Clock by A. Stewart, London
Located in Norwich, GB
A William IV Skeleton clock of fine quality with two massive scroll plates sitting on rectangular, silvered plinths and standing on a mahogany base with block feet. Eight day doubl...
Brass
English Bracket Clock, 19th Century William lV Period
Located in Hamilton, Ontario
19th century William lV period English bracket clock. William IV mahogany bracket clock, L. H. Samuel and Co., Liverpool, circa 1830. 8 inch painted dial ...
A Diminutive Bracket Clock by Adams of Lombard Street
By Adams
Located in Amersham, GB
A rosewood and ormolu mounted bracket clock. With an eight day twin fusee movement, signed Adams of Lombard Street on the 5 inch silvered dial and movement back plate. Striking on a ...
Brass, Ormolu
$20,207
H 86.62 in W 16.15 in D 10.24 in
Outstanding quality antique 19th century French Boulle bracket clock and stand
Located in Ipswich, GB
Outstanding quality antique 19th century French Boulle bracket clock and accompanying pedestal, having a quality antique 19th century bracket clock with a round white dial with Roman...
Brass
$1,250
H 13.25 in W 9.5 in D 7.5 in
24K Harrison Style Grasshopper Escapement Double Pendulum Skeleton Sea Clock
Located in Danville, CA
24K Harrison Style Grasshopper Escapement Double Pendulum Skeleton Sea Clock Here we are offering a fantastic grasshopper sea clock. The clock is sitting on a black base with a prot...
Brass
Fabulous 24K Astro Porcelain Dial 8 Day Fusee Chain Skeleton Clock
Located in Danville, CA
24K Astronomical Porcelain Dial 8 Day Fusee Chain Skeleton Clock with Moon Dial Here is a very nice looking 24K plated large skeleton clock, housed inside a brass frame glass case....
Brass
English Gothic Fusee Clock
Located in Greenwich, CT
Very fine English early to mid-19th century Gothic clock of important scale having carved and gilt pediment and polychrome decorated case with trefoil tr...
Oak
$2,850
H 20.25 in W 13.25 in D 9.5 in
24K English Style Grasshopper Fusee Double Pendulum Moon Dial Skeleton Sea Clock
Located in Danville, CA
24K English Style Grasshopper Fusee Double Pendulum Moon Dial Skeleton Sea Clock Here we are offering a fantastic grasshopper sea clock. It has an unique fusee movement. The clock i...
Brass
Howard Miller Graham Bracket Mantel Clock
Located in Pasadena, TX
Finished in Windsor Cherry on select hardwoods and veneers. Brass finished dial offers a silver chapter ring and decorative corner spandrels. A high-precision, German-made, key-wound...
Brass
$7,800
H 28 in W 16 in D 11 in
German 19th Century Bracket Clock, Walnut with Westminster Chimes on 8 Bells
Located in Houston, TX
Very handsome walnut clock with ormolu mounts on the sides, front corners and paw feet. Urn type finials grace the top center and top corners. Beveled glass front opening to a face ...
Walnut
$5,617
H 82.68 in W 20.08 in D 9.06 in
Beautiful Antique English Grandfather Clock, Mahogany, 19th Century
Located in Berlin, DE
Beautiful antique English grandfather clock, mahogany, 19th century. English floor clock, oak with thread inlay, hand painted dial...
Oak, Mahogany
$2,450
H 18.5 in W 11.25 in D 8.75 in
24K Gold Plated Pinwheel Moon Dial Calendar Fusee Chain Skeleton Clock
Located in Danville, CA
24K Brass Pinwheel Moon Dial Calendar Fusee Chain Skeleton Clock with Front Door Here we are offering a 24K pinwheel moon dial calendar skeleton clock. This clock sits on a black ba...
Brass
$2,850
H 21 in W 12.5 in D 8 in
Large English Style Cathedral Crown Escapement Fusee Striking Skeleton Clock
Located in Danville, CA
Large English Style Cathedral Crown Escapement Fusee Striking Skeleton Clock Here is a very nice looking English style Cathedral form skeleton clock. It sits on a black base and pro...
Brass
19th Century Burr Walnut Bracket Clock by Lenzkirch
By Lenzkirch
Located in Amersham, GB
A quarter striking bracket clock in a fine figured burr walnut case with ormolu mounts and sound frets backed in sage green silk. A gilded dial with s...
Brass, Steel, Ormolu
$2,850
H 19.5 in W 14.25 in D 11.25 in
French Style Flying Ball Pendulum Annular Porcelain Dial Fusee Skeleton Clock
Located in Danville, CA
French Style Flying Ball Pendulum Annular Porcelain Dial Fusee Skeleton Clock Here we are offering a fantastic eye catching flying ball pendulum ...
Brass
Single Fusee Skeleton Timepiece By Richard Webster
By Richard Webster
Located in Amersham, GB
This highly decorative skeleton timepiece signed Webster, London has a single fusee eight day movement regulated by a brass cylinder pendulum. With a very finely made deadbeat escapement and sixty tooth escape wheel. The silvered roman dial is intersected with a subsidiary seconds dial of unusual design. The plates are very finely pierced in a Gothicized Arabesque pattern of foliate scrollwork mounted on an ebonised base with its original glass dome finished in a brocade cord to protect the edge of the glass. Dating from circa 1830 this clock was made buy Richard Webster of the famed family of clockmakers that can be traced back to William Webster who was apprenticed to Thomas Tompion “The Father of English Clockmaking”. Richard Webster, the second in a series of Richards, who moved the family business from 26 Exchange Alley to 43 Cornhill around 1813. The company traded from 43 Cornhill and later 74 Cornhill. Richard Webster was chronometer maker to the Admiralty and to the East India Company. Under Richard Webster II the business seemingly went from strength to strength, at one point occupying two premises – at 74 Cornhill and at nearby 3 Birchin Lane. The Webster name was so well known by now that the surname alone would suffice when signing clock faces. This clock has been serviced and is ready to ship. Richard Webster is listed in Brian Loomes’ “Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World – 21st century edition” as working between 1810 and 1840 Simon C. Davidson, “Box Chronometers for India 1800-1936,” Antiquarian Horology, no.4, vol.35, December 2014 Jeremy Evans, Jonathan Carter & Ben Wright...
Brass, Steel