With clean lines and muted colors, antique Gustavian furniture is understated and elegant. It represents a more restrained version of the transition from Rococo to neoclassicism that was happening in France under Louis XVI. The style developed under Swedish King Gustav III, who reigned from 1771 until his assassination in 1792, and his son Gustav IV, who ruled until 1809. Although Gustavian furniture is mostly used to refer to pale painted cabinets, commodes, armchairs and other items, it involved a range of influences.
Gustavian-style furniture was inspired by discoveries at Pompeii and Herculaneum as well as the grandeur of European palaces like Versailles, with local softwoods such as pine and birch. There was also an emphasis on natural light; crystal chandeliers and large mirrors played a role in radiating the fleeting daylight of winter, giving it a distinctive aesthetic.
Where earlier furniture was curvy and florid, this new era was more architectural, with tapered and fluted legs and rectangular and oval shapes. Luminous gilt contrasted with the palette of soft blues on upholstery and painted surfaces. Leading furniture builders included Gottlieb Iwersson, Louis Masreliez and Erik Öhrmark. The latter, a French-born Swedish decorator, designed the Sulla chair, a seat that was demonstrative of technical skill and precise craftsmanship and drew on Greek klismos chairs. Masreliez’s Sulla chair was made by Öhrmark and featured decorative ornamentation produced by Jean-Baptiste Masreliez, Louis’s younger brother.
While the wealthy had furniture carved with neoclassical details like scallops and rosettes, more affordable options were adorned with faux finishes that mimicked marble and stenciled patterns. The simple elegance of Gustavian furniture would have a long impact on Swedish design, informing the 20th-century appreciation for function and form. In the 1950s, IKEA mass-produced copies of a Gustavian commode designed by cabinetmaker Georg Haupt, who created pieces for the Royal Palace, making the furniture a fixture of everyday Swedish life.
Find a collection of antique Gustavian seating, tables, decorative objects and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Handblown Green Glass Storage Jar or Vase, Gustavian Period
Located in Knivsta, SE
Handblown Green Glass Storage Jar or Vase, Gustavian Period A wonderfully characterful green glass vessel, likely dating from the late 18th to earl...
Glass
$1,400Sale Price|60% Off
Gustavian Alpine Scandinavian Pewter Wine Can Flask Metalwork Decanter Flagon
Located in Hyattsville, MD
Very evocative piece of decor, a real old world relic of nobility and or wealth. Noted as a Swiss Swirl Wine Can by last collector owner, but could also be Austrian or German made. V...
Pewter
Mid Century Modern Large Green Art Glass Handblown Glob Vase
Located in Chesterfield, NJ
Beautiful and unique large hand blown green glass glob vase, possibly Italian. The protrusions and irregular shape add to the handmade quality. This vase is an impressive 17 inches h...
Glass
$1,800
H 27.5 in Dm 10 in
Extra Large Italian Handblown Amber Art Glass Vase or Decanter Empoli or Blenko
By Empoli, Blenko Glass
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A massive and impressive glass decanter attributed to Empoli in Italy. Very much in the style of Blenko Glass. It consists of sculptural handblown amber glass with large stopper.
Art Glass
1960s Olive Green Handblown Bubble Glass Vase by Biot, France
By Biot
Located in London, GB
A beautiful tall olive green handblown bubble glass vase with good pontil mark probably Biot.
Blown Glass
Murano Handblown Art Glass Vase
Located in Worcester Park, GB
This charming Murano-style vase exemplifies the artistry of traditional Italian glassmaking. Hand-blown with remarkable skill, it features a flared ruffled rim and a rounded base, sh...
Art Glass
Art Deco French Crystal and Pewter Duck Decanter
Located in Chapel Hill, NC
Very beautiful carafe, pitcher, jug, in crystal and pewter. Nice work of crystal and pewter. This carafe brings a touch of French elegance to the table decoration. Ideal for decantin...
Crystal, Pewter
Vintage Wine Decanter, Around 1960s
Located in Wien, AT
Vintage Wine Decanter, Around 1960s Original condition The bottle is not includet it is only for the photoshooting
Nickel
Tiffany Silver Spirit Flask
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
A large American silver spirit flask, by Tiffany & Co., circa 1880, Edward C Moore era, one side chased with hunting scenes, the reverse with cartouche on...
Silver
European etched handblown glass vase
Located in London, GB
A beautiful handblown bubble glass vase with etched detail featuring a galleon ship.
Blown Glass
Vintage Mid-Century Orrefors Crystal Decanter with Stopper
By Orrefors
Located in Soquel, CA
Elegant Mid-Century Modern vintage crystal decanter with stopper by Orrefors (Swedish, founded 1898), c. 1960's. Engraved signature to base Orrefors HM 2498 - this particular style was by Edvard Hall. Includes original red Orrefors Sweden sticker with logo. "Orrefors HM 2498" etched into base. Measures 11.5" H x 3" W x 3" D. Orrefors Glassworks was founded in 1898 on the same site where ironworks operations had been run since 1726. In the same year that the glassworks was founded, a hot shop was built for making technical, medical and household glass and stemware to make use of waste wood and labour. Glass now replaced the less profitable ironworks operations. In 1913, Consul Johan Ekman from Gothenburg became the new owner of Orrefors Glassworks. He appointed Albert Ahlin as manager of the glassworks and this marked the start of a new era. In 1914, Orrefors started manufacturing crystal products, and as well as cut crystal according to purchased patterns and samples, Orrefors made art glass using the overlay technique with etched decoration. The new management quickly saw that artists were needed in the business, so Simon Gate was employed in 1916 and was joined by Edward Hald a year later. That same year, Gate and Hald made their first tentative attempts at figure engraving. They also experimented with the new innovative graal (grail) glass technique that was developed at Orrefors by the master glassblower Knut Bergqvist. The major successes were achieved a few years later at the Gothenburg Exhibition in 1923, and in particular at the Paris Exhibition in 1925. The thin engraved glass was admired by the surrounding world, and both Orrefors and the artists themselves were awarded the Grand Prix. The successes of Simon Gate and Edward Hald in Paris in 1925 constituted the start of the long Orrefors tradition of creative design closely combined with genuine and innovative craftsmanship. Since then, new designers and skilled glassmakers have continued in the spirit of Gate and Hald. Vicke Lindstrand and Edvin Öhrström with the new glass technique called Ariel in the 1930s. Sven Palmqvist with Kraka and Ravenna in the 1940s. And in the 1950s with Fuga, which, along with Nils Landberg’s slender tulip-shaped glass “Tulpan” and Ingeborg Lundin’s apple-shaped vase “Äpplet”, are now seen as symbols of the renaissance of Swedish design. The 1960s are associated with Gunnar Cyrén’s Pop glass, and in the 1970s, Eva Englund, Olle Alberius, Lars Hellsten and Jan Johansson as well as Cyrén worked at the glassworks. Since the 1980s, designers such as Anne Nilsson, Erika Lagerbielke, Helen Krantz, Matz Borgström, Per B Sundberg, Martti Rytkönen, Lena Bergström, Ingegerd Råman, Malin Lindahl and Efva Attling...
Crystal
Antique Emerald Green English Bottle Decanter with Cork Stopper
Located in Hamilton, Ontario
This antique liquor bottle decanter is unsigned, but presumed to have been made in circa 1880 in the Victorian style. The decanter is done in a ...
Glass
Pair of Georgian Period Spirit Decanters
Located in Steyning, West sussex
A pair of Georgian period slice and diamond cut spirit decanters. England, circa 1800.
Cut Glass
Spirit Ships Decanter
Located in Steyning, West sussex
A spirit ships decanter. England, circa 1820. Measures: Height: 20 cm (7 3/4"). Diameter: 15 cm (6").
Glass