During Mount Vesuvius’ eruption in 79 A.D., Pompeii and Herculaneum in today’s Italy were preserved as they were on the day of their destruction. Particularly at Herculaneum, furnishings were carbonized beneath volcanic ash. This was pivotal to understanding how Classical Roman furniture was designed. Archaeological investigations and printed reproductions of discoveries would influence styles evoking this ancient civilization, from the Renaissance to neoclassicism.
While knowledge of Classical Roman furniture comes from rare surviving pieces, it is also derived from frescoes and sculptures portraying Roman life. Much of Roman art, architecture and design was informed by Greece — Roman architect, military engineer and writer Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, whose timeless De architectura is taught in contemporary architecture classes and pays tribute to classical architecture, visited Greece while working under Julius Caesar and admired the country’s architectural developments. The Roman solium references the Greek thronos, a stately chair of honor with an upright form and footstool. As the Roman Empire spread across Europe and into North Africa and Western Asia, the expansion of trade for silver, silk, marble and wood allowed for more luxurious designs.
Classical Roman furniture was made from bronze, wood and stone — in particular, marble — with ornate touches like tortoiseshell veneers, bone and glass inlays and claw feet. Ornaments depicting lion heads and mythological figures were sculpted from silver, bronze and ivory. Compared to the decorative attention given to the mosaic floors and wall paintings, however, furniture for even a wealthy house was minimal. It focused on the necessities for guests arriving for both socializing and business and the rooms housing family, relatives and enslaved people.
The triclinium dining room had banquet couches, items so prized they were sometimes interred with the deceased. Tall bronze or terracotta candelabras held oil lamps for lighting. Carved marble tables reflected status, while the lararium home shrine demonstrated faith.
Find a collection of Classical Roman decorative objects, tables, seating and other furniture on 1stDibs.
$556Sale Price|20% Off
Bronze Laurel Wreath
Located in Alessandria, Piemonte
Some years ago I found this bronze laurel wreath: I liked it, I bought and placed it on a beautiful marble head. ref. O/6843.
Bronze
Extremely Rare Roman Glass Fragment with Iridescent Patina – 1st–4th Century AD
Located in Fukuoka, JP
A remarkable and rare fragment of ancient Roman glass, dating from the 1st to 4th century AD. The glass is preserved in excellent condition and displays a stunning natural iridescent...
Glass
$3,900Sale Price / set|50% Off
H 28 in W 24 in D 20 in
Pair of Italian Terracotta Eagles After a 1 st Century AD Roman Marble Original
Located in Vancouver, British Columbia
A life-Size pair of finely cast 19th century Italian terracotta eagles standing on an oval terracotta base, each facing the other with their wings par...
Terracotta
Nineteenth Century Italian Bronze of Seated Hermes
Located in London, GB
Nineteenth century Italian bronze model of Seated Hermes, stamped 'GIORGIO SOMMER FOUNDRY, NAPLES', set on marble plinth base. Dimensions: 44cm (17¼") High, 42cm (16½") Wide, Base 2...
Marble, Bronze
$45,000
H 3.25 in W 2.25 in D 1 in
1st Century AD Roman Bronze Statuette of Mercury Polykleitos Classic Antiquities
Located in Keego Harbor, MI
A unique historic artifact – a Roman bronze statuette of Mercury, holding a caduceus, with ram at side, of Polykeitan style. Circa 1st Century A.D. Displayed on base pedestal. Polykl...
Bronze
Roman Marble Trapezophorus circa 1st-2nd Century A.D
Located in Madrid, ES
A Roman marble trapezophorus in the Form of a Barbarian Dacian young figure. Circa 1st-2nd century A.D. Measure: height 24 1/4 inches (62 cm). Property from Mr. Radu Moldovan, Skokie, Illinois Provenance: B.C. Holland Gallery...
Marble
Rare Ancient Roman Fragment of Red Imperial Porphyry
Located in Wormelow, Herefordshire
An ancient example of a red Imperial Porphyry fragment dating back as far as 1st century Ancient Rome. This is a rare and unusual worked example of this semi-precious stone which is ...
Porphyry
Ancient Roman Bronze Herm on Stand, 1st-4th Century AD
Located in Bradenton, FL
Ancient Roman Bronze Herm Statue dating from the 1st to 4th Century A.D. A herm was a statue consisting of a a head atop a square pillar, originally an artifact to honor the god Herm...
Bronze
Roman Bronze Hand Mirror with Beautiful Patina, circa 1st Century
Located in Austin, TX
A simple and elegant Roman bronze hand mirror, late Republic Period, circa 1st century, Italy. The bronze mirror of simple form. The round face with a pierced border design. The openwork handle...
Bronze
Petite Italian Bronze & Slate Etruscan Statue Sculpture
Located in San Diego, CA
Small Etruscan Sculpture Firenze Italy 1980's bronze & Slate.
Slate, Bronze
Roman Bronze Figure of Hygeia
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Hygeia was the daughter of the god Asklepius and the personification of health and hygiene. Here she is depicted wearing a long chiton that fans out at the hem, with a himation wrapp...
Bronze
Ancient Roman Bronze Foot Fragment A.D. 1st-2nd Century
Located in York, GB
A finely cast bronze foot fragment from an ancient Roman statue with a wonderful green patina consummate with age. Provenance from the Mintici collection, Belgium 1970's-1990's.
Bronze
Ancient Roman Portrait Bust of a Man, 1st Century BC
Located in Brooklyn, NY
A portrait of Roman aristocrat executed in the Veristic style. From the Latin "verus" meaning truth, the practice represented everyday subjects with great realism often including signs of age with exacting detail. Wrinkles, furrowed brows, and moles are presented as signs of wisdom and power and suggest the philosophical and moral character of the sitter. With the ascent of Emperor Augustus, eternal youth again took center stage, and verism fell into disfavor. The style enjoyed a resurgence after Emperor Vespasian came to power in 69 AD, Italy, 1st century BC. Provenance - the collection of Spanish fashion designer Elio Berhanyer...
Marble
Ancient Roman Bronze Figure of Mercury
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
The Roman deity Mercury was the god of commerce, communication, and travelers. He is the equivalent of Hermes from the Greek pantheon, and due to his association with communication ...
Bronze
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H 6.7 in W 7.88 in D 4.73 in
Antique Roman style Fragment of a life size Marble Woman’s sculpture
Located in Doha, QA
The bottom of a life size marble woman’s sculpture, Roman Empire ,- a woman foot with the toes. A very decorative piece and part of the Roman Empire history. It’s rested for display...
Marble
Vintage Stacked Gemstone Sculptural Pyramids - a Pair
Located in Farmington Hills, MI
We are very pleased to offer a stunning pyramid sculpture set, circa the 1970s. Crafted with meticulous attention to detail, each facet is carefully carved and polished to perfectio...
Multi-gemstone, Marble
Large Antique Rare Frieze in Gilded Wood
Located in Alessandria, Piemonte
Large antique rare frieze in gilded wood: wonderful! Rare to find. It can gather two large tents in the center or become an elegant applique lamp...
Fruitwood
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H 1.58 in W 9.06 in L 1.58 in
19th Century Portraits with Roman Emperors and Consorts Sculptures Terracotta
Located in Milan, IT
Nineteenth century portraits with busts of Roman emperors and consorts (12) Terracotta, 31 x 23 cm The urgent need to propagandistically spread the effigy of the ruler in office throughout the empire produced, in Roman times, the practice of portraying the emperor on the most easily circulated object, coins. The typing of the portrait, in profile and up to the collarbones, thus became a repertoire, to which acronyms synthesizing names, offices and attributes were associated. The terracotta roundels present in bas-relief the profiles of the emperors of the gens flavia and claudia, with some spouses. Identification is made easier by the abbreviation of their names and by the initials "CAE", or caesar, imperial qualification, painted on the top of the tondi. The emperors wear the laurea insignis on their heads, a laurel wreath knotted on the nape of the neck, the original symbol of victory in the Greek Pythian Games. The crown was then attributed to the victorious generals, and thus to the emperors, being the imperator, literally, the "commander in charge of the troops". The spouses instead have a traditional bun and the initials "VX", that is uxor, "wife". Proceeding in chronological order, it is possible to observe the profiles of Livia Drusilla Claudia (LIVI), wife of Augusto, member of the gens Claudia but adopted by the Iulia family when Augusto died; mother of the future emperor Tiberius, she was deified on her death in 29 AD Agrippina Minore (AGGR), mother of Emperor Nero, the first true august of the family, regent while her son was still a child between 49 and 54 AD Nero (NER) , son of Agrippina, ruler during the fire of Rome...
Terracotta
Fine Pair of Italian Roman Grand Tour Carrara Marble Feet
Located in New York, NY
A fabulous and quite decorative, and large pair of Italian Roman Grand Tour Carrara marble feet. Each is exceptionally hand carved with meticulous detail a...
Carrara Marble
Antique Classical Shell Volute, an Architectural Element
Located in Sheffield, MA
The antique architectural sculptural element in cast stone is a classical curling volute surmounted by a stylized sea shell. It could be centered above a door frame or high above a m...
Cast Stone
Ancient Hellenistic, Roman Bronze Statue Fragment, 100 BC
Located in London, GB
A fragment from a bronze statue, Hellenistic to early Roman 1st BC-1st century AD. Preserving the right hand and wrist, the thumb and small finger lost, the remaining fingers fine...
Bronze
Set of 2 Roman Architectural Fragments
Located in Vosselaar, BE
Set of 2 Roman architectural fragments. One a vertical palmette motif (18 x 6 x 3cm) and the other a horizontal gulf motif (9 x 17 x 5)cm. Both in m...
Marble
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H 18 in W 9 in D 9 in
Ancient Roman Portrait Bust of Empress Faustina Major from the Second Century AD
Located in Brooklyn, NY
A large, ethereal marble portrait bust of an aristocratic woman identified as the celebrated beauty Empress Faustina Major (100AD-140AD), Wife of Emperor Antoninus Pius. The niec...
Marble
Antique Hand-Carved Stone Pediment
Located in Sheffield, MA
Early roman style hand-carved limestone pediment can grace a garden at the end of a perspective or allee. A wonderful antique architectural element that can be casually placed to acc...
Stone
Fragment of a Lifesize Roman Bronze Statue, 170 AD
Located in London, GB
A fragment from a lifesize Roman bronze statue, dating to the late second century AD. Finely modelled with deep set eye, heavy lids and large pu...
Bronze
Pair of Antique Flame Finials
Located in Sheffield, MA
Made of composite limestone, the pair of antique flame urns are embellished with such classical motifs as flowers, scrolls and protruding cartouches. The...
Limestone