Typically made of mahogany, teak or bamboo and featuring a range of fabrics and prints with botanical patterns, antique British Colonial furniture and decor varies as it involved local materials and techniques and spanned centuries of design styles.
As the British Empire expanded from the 16th to the 20th century, its conquest and control of colonies around the world bolstered its wealth through the extraction of resources. Including colonies in the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australasia, this spread of often violent subjugation imposed British culture, language and faith on Indigenous peoples. The design of homes was included in this expression of imperial power, with government officials, merchants and military officers creating homes mimicking the luxuries they were used to in England.
Local artisans were commissioned to replicate British designs, resulting in versions of Regency, Chippendale, Sheraton and other styles of furniture being crafted from mahogany, rosewood, ebony and teakwood as opposed to beech and oak, which were more common in Europe. Whereas the colonial furniture for the Portuguese and Dutch regularly had motifs of indigenous flora and fauna, the British tended to want more exact reproductions of their home country’s designs.
To escape the summer heat in places such as India and the Caribbean, British colonizers relocated to airy houses in the hills or plantations, leading to foldable chairs and collapsible desks in the style of military campaign furniture. Rather than upholstery as they might have in Europe, chairs and sofas in the British Colonial style had rattan and cane seating for these higher temperature climates. The contrast between the light textiles and the dark colors of the sturdy furniture became a defining aesthetic of British Colonial interiors.
Find a collection of antique British Colonial outdoor furniture, seating, bedroom furniture, decorative objects and other items on 1stDibs.
Tole Military Hat Trade Sign on Lucite
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Trade sign depicting an 18th century British officer's hat with a weathered finish and presented on a custom Lucite stand.
Tôle
British Colonial Wood Column on Custom Stand
Located in Atlanta, GA
A single 19th century British Colonial carved wood column with custom Stand. This antique hand carved wooden architectural element from India, ...
Iron
$3,300 / set
Pair of Sea Fan Sculptures
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Pair of sea fan sculptures crafted or dipped in silvered metal with amazing accuracy and presented on classic form lacquered stands. Signed Eduardo Garza...
Metal
Hivo Van Teal Lucite Abstract Sculpture, Signed 1970
Located in Chicago, IL
Hivo Van Teal Lucite Abstract Sculpture, Signed 1970's. Hivo Van Teal is an award winning artist and designer. Sculpture is signed Van Teal. Has a smal...
Lucite
Black Coral Sea Fan Sculpture
Located in Houston, TX
Black coral sea fan embellished with natural quartz mounted on a 19th-Century French Napoleon III bronze doré fragment. This is a lovely objet d'art to add to your collection or cabi...
Coral, Quartz, Bronze
Trio of Lucite Sculptures Signed & Dated
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Fantastic trio of Lucite sculptures with geometric shapes designed and manufactured by a Los Angeles artist and signed "Henry" 2017. The pieces are beautifully executed, the inlaid ...
Lucite
Black Coral Sea Fan Sculpture
Located in Houston, TX
Black coral sea fan embellished with tourmaline and a showy quartz druzy shell specimen mounted on a 19th-Century French bronze doré fragment. This is a lovely objet d'art to add to ...
Coral, Quartz, Bronze
African Colonial Sculpture of a Man in a Bowler Hat Circa 1900
Located in Ottawa, Ontario
AFRICAN COLONIAL SCULPTURE OF A MAN IN A BOWLER HAT Circa 1900 Carved and polychrome decorated caricature of a standing man in a suit and bowler hat w...
Wood
Starfish fossil from Morocco, on custom stand
Located in MARSEILLE, FR
Starfish from Morocco Custom stand from wood and steel
Stone
Pair of Olive Branch Sculptures
Located in New York, NY
Olive Branch: Measures Approximately: L 8" x D 2" x H 2" Handmade in Provence, France.
Metal
Fossil Woolly Mammoth Tusk on Custom Walnut Stand
Located in Tucson, AZ
Transporting the viewer to the majestic Ice Age, this Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly Mammoth) tusk is a remarkable relic of the Pleistocene epoch. Approximately 30,000 years old, the ...
Stainless Steel
Pair of Ruler Selenite on Lucite Bases
By Interi
Located in Columbia, SC
A pair of ruler selenite on lucite bases. Ruler selenite or "selenite logs" are single, prismatic selenite crystals from Morocco that were formed in extensive beds by the evaporation of ocean brine. This mineral is a crystallized form of gypsum and is characterized by a silky, pearly luster called satin spare. Interi transforms Italian artifacts...
Rock Crystal
Large Brass Sea Turtle Sculpture
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Large brass sea turtle sculpture / decorative box / catch all. Shell is polished brass and rest of body is in patinated finish. We also have a smaller size in our other listing LU985...
Brass
Vintage Sawfish Rostrum Sculpture on Lucite Base
Located in W Allenhurst, NJ
A dramatic natural sawfish rostrum specimen displayed on a custom lucite stand, embodying the effortless sophistication of Palm Beach coastal interiors. With its sculptural silhouett...
Lucite
$2,171
H 70.87 in W 7.29 in D 7.29 in
Still Stand Abstract Wood Sculpture, Column, Totem, Chainsaw Carved, Handmade
By Logniture
Located in Stara Gradiška, HR
Still Stand Abstract Biomorphic Wood Sculpture, Chainsaw Carved From Single Piece of Oak Wood
Oak
Ammonite Fossil on a custom stand
Located in MILL, NL
Large fossilised ammonite on a bespoke metal stand An ammonite is the fossil of an extinct marine animal that was related to modern-day squid, octopuses and nautiluses. It was ther...
Other
Carved Cigar Store Native American Indian, Shop Trade Sign
Located in Godshill, Isle of Wight
Carved Cigar Store Native American Indian, Shop Trade Sign This is a very rare find, he is an almost full size American Indian Chief, he is carved from one piece of wood ( a tree tr...
Wood
Silas Seandel Sea Grass Sculpture
Located in New York, NY
Stunning 1970's brutalist sea grass metal sculpture designed by Silas Seandel "Signed and dated" in vintage original condition with some wear and patina due ...
Brass, Steel
Pair of Midcentury Style British Colonial Banana Leaf Sculptures
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Vintage pair of gilt cast metal banana or palm leaf sculptures or objects of art presented on marble bases and signed Zodax India on the bottom.
Metal
19th Century British Colonial Architectural Column on Stand
Located in Atlanta, GA
A single 19th century British Colonial carved wood column with custom stand. This antique hand carved wooden architectural element from India, which stands just over 5.5 feet in heig...
Iron
Sold
H 11.8 in Dm 4 in
Pair of Faux 'Elephant Tusk', Marble Bookends or Dresser Ornaments, 20th Century
Located in Esbjerg, DK
A pair of faux elephant tusk bookends or decorative ornaments for your desk, dresser or in front of your entrance hall mirror. They are constructe...
Marble
Pair of 1940s Mid Century Ladies Riding Boots with Wooden Stretchers
Located in Port Jervis, NY
Fabulous pair of leather riding boots with wooden stretchers. Leather is still intact and in good condition. Pull up straps are still attached and working. Stretcher is a 3 part mapl...
Leather, Maple
Pair of Redmile Ostrich Egg Garnitures
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Fine and rare pair of Redmile garnitures featuring lapis lazuli finials on ostrich egg boxes carefully supported by seated silver plated monkeys on three boar tusk bases. For the dis...
Pair of African Wedding Bracelet in Solid Bronze
Located in Auribeau sur Siagne, FR
Pair of African wedding bracelet in solid bronze.
Bronze