The authentic Biedermeier furniture on 1stDibs is representative of the first modern European decorative style not dictated by the tastes of the aristocracy. Following the Napoleonic wars, a growing, wealthy urban middle class in the German-speaking states of Central Europe began to demand rights and privileges once granted only to nobles. To avoid trouble, the upwardly striving confined their political discussions to one another’s homes. And so the salon was born.
Cabinetmakers in cities such as Vienna, Berlin and Mainz began to offer goods that reflected the tastes and needs of the new class. The makers of Biedermeier chairs, tables and other furniture used little or no gilding, silver hardware or other lavish ornament. Ebonized trims are common on Biedermeier cabinetry, and neoclassical elements — lyre-shaped chair splats, carved scrollwork, table supports shaped like Greek columns. But the strongest aesthetic statement came from the wood — richly-grained, honey-colored, often book-matched veneers of walnut and fruitwood.
There are two iconic Biedermeier furniture forms, both made to outfit rooms designed for conversation. One is the sofa, deeply upholstered with a strong, architectural wooden frame. The second is the circular pedestal table, which stood at the center of the room, offering a surface on which to place coffee and cake services; or to roll out a map, or sketch out ideas on paper.
“Biedermeier” was originally a derogatory term — it derives from the pen names of two German magazine writers who mocked bourgeois manners. Looking at the elegant and refined antique, new and vintage Biedermeier furniture offered on 1stDibs, that is now an amusing irony.
A Miniature Two Train Vienna Regulator
Located in Amersham, GB
A rare wedge shaped laterndluhr Vienna regulator with a two train weight driven movement of exceptional quality. The eight day movement strikes the ho...
Brass, Steel
Fine Fruitwood Grand-Sonnerie Striking Vienna Regulator Wall Clock
Located in Norwich, GB
Fine Fruitwood Grand-Sonnerie Striking Vienna Regulator Four pillar, triple train movement of short duration with dead beat escapement incorporating...
Fruitwood
19th Century Biedermeier Picture Clock, Austria, circa 1830
Located in Greven, DE
Biedermeier picture clock with fountain mechanism Austria Oil on iron sheet circa 1830 Dimensions: H × W × D: 45 × 53 × 14 cm Description: This rare picture clock depicts a villag...
Iron
$17,500
Austrian Wooden Wall Clock
Located in Queens, NY
Austrian wooden wall clock with beige and silver hand-painted face and mahogany case with a steepled top.
Mahogany
German Mahogany Figural & Satinwood Inlaid Tall Case Flute Clock, Circa 1780
By A. Belokopytoff
Located in Charleston, SC
German Biedermeier mahogany tall case flute clock with porcelain dial, upper case having four rotating painted soldiers and biblical figures, original blow...
Brass, Wrought Iron
$1,134Sale Price|37% Off
Early 19th Century Austrian Biedermeier Wall Clock
Located in Vancouver, British Columbia
A traditional Austrian Biedermeier wall clock featuring a rectangular carved and gilded wood frame clock face; surmounted by a gilt bronze winged eagle. The decorations on the frame ...
Bronze
$2,057Sale Price|20% Off
Wall Clock in the Biedermeier Style, 19th Century
Located in Opole, PL
Wall Clock in the Biedermeier Style, 19th Century Presenting a truly unique and original wall clock from the first half of the 19th century, crafted in the elegant Biedermeier style...
Wood, Rosewood
Baroque Wall Clock in a Biedermeier Case, 18th/19th Century
Located in Greding, DE
A "marriage" combining a Baroque bronze wall clock with a Biedermeier case in the form of a temple. The case, crafted from birch, merges the ornate design of the Baroque period with ...
Bronze
19th-Century Pendulum Wall Clock
Located in Opole, PL
We present you this chain pendulum clock with a gravity winding mechanism with a single weight. The case bears normal traces of long years of use. It is intended to be renovated. ...
Brass
19C Gustav Becker Vienna Wall Clock
Located in Dallas, TX
PRESENTING A GORGEOUS 19C Gustav Becker Vienna Wall Clock. Made by the famous clockmaker, Gustav Becker circa 1880 in Germany. Th...
Brass
$1,683Sale Price|20% Off
H 47.25 in W 12.8 in D 5.71 in
Austria-Hungarian Wall Clock From the Late 19th Century
Located in Opole, PL
Austria-Hungarian Wall Clock From the Late 19th Century We present you this wall clock from the late 19th century (probably 1870) manufactured in Austria-Hungary. The gravity windin...
Wood
$6,781Sale Price|34% Off
H 92.52 in W 25.2 in D 10.24 in
Tall Case Clock, Bristol, England, circa 1830, Victorian
Located in Darmstadt, DE
The case of the grandfather clock is made of mahogany and was possibly made by the watchmaker Nathaniel Edgecombe. The clock is from Bristol England, circa 1830. + The ship in the d...
Nutwood, Spruce
Regency Mahogany Tall Case Clock By W. Ashford, London
Located in Essex, MA
With arched bonnet with brass finials over a convex glass bezel opening to a steel clock face. Newly cleaned and put in ready to go condition. The case with pendulum door. Weights, k...
Brass, Iron
$924
H 2.76 in Dm 22.05 in
Vintage Antique Industrial Wooden Gents of Leicester GPO Wall Clock, c 1940
Located in London, GB
A wooden and copper cased wall clock made in England by Gents of Leicester. c.1940 Originally designed for the GPO - General Post Office. Hardwood frame, in an attractive black fini...
Copper
19th Century Musical Picture Clock
Located in Tarzana, CA
A large well-detailed musical picture clock. The oil painting on canvas depicts a village scene in Europe with manor home, mountains at sunset in...
Canvas, Giltwood
Comtoise Morbier Tall Case Clock
Located in Bradenton, FL
A very nice Comtoise Morbier tall clock in a floral paint decorated Pine case, France - late 19th century. Rings on the hour and two minutes after the hour...
Pine
Large Early Wooden Gents of Leicester Wall Clock, c.1920
Located in London, GB
A beautifully presented early wooden cased wall clock by Gents of Leicester. c.1920. Rich mahogany case with aged brass bezel, 18" dial and glazing. New 240v movement installed.
Glass, Mahogany
Stunning quality antique Victorian walnut Vienna wall clock
Located in Ipswich, GB
Quality antique Victorian walnut Vienna wall clock, having a quality walnut case with fantastic carved columns, the original turned finials to the top and bottom, a single glazed doo...
Walnut
Large Wooden Japanese Clock, 1920s
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
This wooden wall clock by Aichi was produced in Japan in the 1920s. With its round, black wooden frame and easy-to-read dial, the clock hung in stations, schools, and government buil...
Iron
Regulator clock in rosewood with silver applications
Located in Porto, PT
Description: Regulator clock in rosewood with silver applications. Metal: Silver. Origin: Portuguese. Brand: Javali II Title. Weight: 1048.83 grams. Dimensions: 26.5x23.5cm. Content:...
Silver
Rare Biedermeier Saw Wall Clock, Denmark, dated 1829
Located in Greven, DE
Rare antique saw clock Denmark Brass, enamel dated: 1829 Dimensions: H x W x D: 46 x 13 x 8 cm Description: Very unusual and extremely rare gravity-driven...
Brass, Enamel
Sold
H 37.41 in W 8.86 in D 4.93 in
Fine Eight Day 19th Century Architectural Vienna Biedermeier Regulator Clock
Located in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
A fine and extremely elegant Vienna regulator of wonderful proportions with a mahogany-veneered and boxwood line inlaid case, c. 1840-50 (German: Dachl-Uhr). The elegant case has a t...
Brass
Year-Going Regulator Clock
Located in New Orleans, LA
This rare year-going regulator clock, or Laterndluhr, beautifully demonstrates the heights of precision clockmaking. The ash-veneered Biedermeier case ...
Brass
Sold
H 46.5 in W 15.25 in D 6.25 in
Antique Vienna Biedermeier 8-Day Regulator/Clock, Carl Suchy & Söhne, circa 1890
Located in Portland, OR
Antique Vienna 8-day time and strike regulator/clock by Carl Suchy & Söhne, circa 1890. A fine regulator in a mahogany case and in the Biedermeier style, the arched top flanked by a ...
Mahogany
Biedermeier Vienna Regulator Wall Clock by A.Mayer in Wein
Located in Norwich, GB
Biedermeier Vienna regulator with one-piece enamel dial, Roman numerals, original finely pierced ‘blued’ steel hands signed ‘A.Mayer, In Wien’. Eight day weight driven movement with fine quality wheelwork and brass bob pendulum, circa 1850. Anton Mayer...
Wood