Aesthetic Movement Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
In 1880, polymath designer William Morris declared: “If you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” His words encapsulated the Aesthetic Movement, which prized beauty above all and blurred the lines between fine art and the decorative arts, particularly through lavishly crafted furniture pieces.
The Aesthetic Movement, whose major proponents included author Oscar Wilde, flourished from the 1860s to the 1880s and was mostly popular in England and the United States. Design expositions like the 1876 Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia, as well as the publishing of how-to books for interior design, helped disseminate Aesthetic Movement bedroom furniture, serveware, coffee tables and other items, especially to the middle class.
The establishment of new art museums, art clubs and a rising passion for collecting at the time contributed to a growing appreciation for art. Morris’s founding of Morris & Co. in 1862 and the commercializing of this “cult of beauty” by the Liberty store in London, starting in the late 19th century, further disseminated the idea of a domestic space that was thoughtfully and floridly designed.
Leading Aesthetic Movement furniture designers included E.W. Godwin, who drew on Japanese influences and whose work reflected a wider enthusiasm for imported East Asian art. British designer Christopher Dresser created textiles, ceramics and more that were also inspired by Japanese decorative art but were representative of additional diverse design sources that ranged from Egypt to Mexico.
The Aesthetic Movement’s eclecticism resulted in dazzling interiors. Japanese fans were positioned on Renaissance-inspired cabinets with brass hardware, while mantels made of rich walnut or finely carved ebonized wood and adorned with painted Minton tiles mingled with cast-iron chairs against a backdrop of floral wallpaper. In 1881, in New York City, stenciled checkerboard motifs and painted floral murals could be found under an opalescent glass chandelier in a luxurious dressing room designed by German émigré cabinetmaker-decorator George Alfred Schastey. Amid the rise of the industrial age, the style’s promotion of art in everyday life would inform the Arts and Crafts Movement and Art Nouveau.
Find a collection of antique Aesthetic Movement seating, tables, decorative objects and other furniture and antiques on 1stDibs.
1970s Swiss Vintage Aesthetic Movement Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Gold Plate
Late 19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Bronze, Enamel
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Brass
Mid-19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Ormolu
20th Century Swiss Aesthetic Movement Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Metal, Gold Plate, Brass
1960s Swiss Vintage Aesthetic Movement Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Crystal, Bronze
Mid-20th Century French Aesthetic Movement Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Bronze
19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Enamel, Ormolu
1970s Swiss Vintage Aesthetic Movement Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Brass
1950s Swiss Vintage Aesthetic Movement Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Brass
1980s Swiss Vintage Aesthetic Movement Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Gold Plate
1960s Swiss Vintage Aesthetic Movement Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Lucite
1880s German Antique Aesthetic Movement Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Pine
19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Bronze, Other
19th Century European Antique Aesthetic Movement Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Metal, Other
