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.
19th Century Classical Bronze Clock / Sculpture, by Aug. Moreau
Located in Brighton, Sussex
Bronze sculpture with brown patina including a clock and signed Auguste Moreau. It features a woman wearing a flowing dress who is standing on a globe. The title printed on a small p...
Bronze
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
$14,950Sale Price|21% Off
H 20 in W 19.13 in D 8 in
French 19th Century Louis XV Style Gilt Bronze Cherubs & Rooster Mantel Clock
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A very fine French 19th century Louis XV style gilt bronze and white marble figural mantel clock. The finely chased ormolu body, with its original two-tone mercury gilt, centered with a circular enameled porcelain clock face with Roman and Arabic numeral dials and inscribed 'A. Thomas - Fabt de Bronze - 56, Rue de Turenne - Paris', surmounted with a pair of playful seated cherubs amidst clouds and wreaths, the case crowned with a figure of a Gallic Rooster (Coq Gaulois...
Marble, Bronze, Ormolu
$10,750
H 22 in W 14 in D 9 in
Outstanding Late 19th Century Gilt Bronze Mantle Clock by Dagrin and Philippe
Located in Long Island City, NY
An outstanding late 19th century gilt bronze mantel (fireplace) clock by Dagrin and Philippe By Dagrin and Philippe A large gilt bronze, beautifully dressed sculpture...
Bronze, Ormolu
Napoleon III Gilt-Bronze, Glass and Champlevé Enamel Mantel Clock
Located in New York, NY
Napoleon III Gilt-Bronze, Champlevé Enamel & Glass Mantel Clock with matching Champlevé Candelabras Clock face marks: Bigelow Kennard & Co. / Chicago Late 19th/early 20th centu...
Bronze, Enamel
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 measuring 22 by 15 by 9 inches with porcelain dial signed C.H. BAGLIA, MILANO, a prestigious upscale retailer...
Bronze
Gilded and Lapis Lazuli Mantel Clock by Jaeger Le Coultre
Located in Norwich, GB
JAEGER LE COULTRE Jaeger Le Coultre gilt table clock with Lapis Lazuli dial, Roman numerals signed ‘Jaeger Le Coultre’ and original gilded hands. R...
Brass
Important Late 19th Century Gilt and Patinated Bronze Mantel Clock
Located in Long Island City, NY
A Large and Important Late 19th Century Gilt and Patinated Bronze, French Champlevé Enamel and Wood Mantle Clock The top figure is of Nike of Samothrace...
Bronze, Enamel
19th Century Bronze Sculpture of a Lady by Moreau
Located in London, GB
This alluring bronze depicts the full-length figure of a young lady who, swathed in draped clothing, looks downward toward a basket of flowers hung about her waist. The circular base...
Bronze
$2,395
H 14.25 in W 13.25 in D 8.5 in
19th Century Bronze by Moreau Sitting Figure of a Lady 'Student or Scholar'
Located in Incline Village, NV
Of French origin, this mid to late 19th century bronze figure was made by the prolific French bronze making artist family "Moreau". The sculpture depicts a young female student or sc...
Bronze
Lovely Late 19th Century Bronze Sculpture by Mathurin Moreau
Located in Long Island City, NY
Late 19th century bronze sculpture of a woman in a vineyard carrying grapes. Signed Math Moreau on the base. Mathurin M...
Bronze
Rococo Style Gilt Bronze and Marble Satyr Figurals Mantel Clock
Located in Germantown, MD
A clean Rococo-style gilt bronze figural mantel clock. The clock is a late 19th-century piece, featuring cherubs / satyrs. The style is characterized by elaborate scrollwork, foliag...
Marble, Metal, Bronze, Ormolu
$13,244
H 23.23 in W 11.82 in D 10.24 in
Superb 19th Century Bronze Sculpture by Renowned French Sculptor Auguste Moreau
Located in Suffolk, GB
Superb 19th century bronze sculpture by Auguste Moreau depicting a classical female figure surrounded by playful cherubs. The woman draped in flowing robes looks upward with a joyful...
Bronze
$7,495
H 19.25 in W 20 in D 8 in
Antique 19th Century French Bronze Sculpture of Diana the Huntress by A. Moreau
Located in Swedesboro, NJ
Dimensions - H: 19 1/4 in W: 20 in D: 8 in This exceptional late 19th-century French bronze sculpture by the renowned artist Auguste Moreau (1834–1917) presents an elegant and powe...
Bronze, Ormolu
Sold
H 20.25 in W 9.5 in D 9.5 in
Antique French Clock with Classical Bronze Sculpture of Young Boy, Circa 1890
Located in Big Flats, NY
An antique clock offers Classical bronze sculpture of young bow with grapes, leaf and vine in countryside setting seated on marble case having foliate ormolu mounts and raised on cas...
Marble, Metal, Bronze