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Gustavian Vases and Vessels

GUSTAVIAN STYLE

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.

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Style: Gustavian
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...
Category

Late 18th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Vases and Vessels

Materials

Glass

Tri-Handle Large White Ceramic Jug / Vase / Pottery
Located in Manhasset, NY
Tri-Handle Large White Ceramic Jug / Vase / Pottery A large and impressive decorative glazed pottery jug or vase having twin handles depicting lion maned busts. 20 H x 15 DIA hxa
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Early 2000s American Gustavian Vases and Vessels

Materials

Ceramic

Erik Ernander 'Worked ca. 1755', Silver Beaker, Origin: Sweden, Dated 1788
By Eric Ernander
Located in New York, NY
Swedish Gustavian 18th century silver beaker by Erik Ernander (Worked ca. 1755 in Uppsala, Sweden), Origin: Sweden, stamped: artist's stamp, Swedish triple crown...
Category

18th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Vases and Vessels

Materials

Silver

Antique German Paktong Tumbler Cup, 17th Century
Located in St Annes, Lancashire
This fine antique tumbler cup has a plain circular form. Made from the rare and highly prized metal Paktong. Similar in shape to silver examples of ...
Category

Late 17th Century German Antique Gustavian Vases and Vessels

Materials

Other

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...
Category

18th Century Swiss Antique Gustavian Vases and Vessels

Materials

Pewter

Josef Ekberg, 1908
Located in Hollywood, FL
This is a handmade vase, this is a very rare 2 tone green. The only one of its kind. Signed and dated, J-Ekberg 1908. A Swedish Artist that started working for the Gustavsberg Cerami...
Category

Early 1900s Swedish Antique Gustavian Vases and Vessels

Materials

Ceramic

Swedish Gustavian Neoclassical Style Painted Lyre Form Jardinière or Planter
Located in Essex, MA
Gustavian style painted and distressed Lyre form planter. In the neoclassical taste. Wonderfully dovetailed and distressed. Quite charming.
Category

Early 20th Century Swedish Gustavian Vases and Vessels

Materials

Pine

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Art Deco Large Vase Gustavsberg Sgraffito Josef Ekberg, Sweden, 1922
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Japanese Antique Pottery Jar 16th-17th Century/ Wabi-Sabi Vase/Tokoname
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Art Deco Vase Gustavsberg Sgraffito Josef Ekberg, Sweden, 1922
Located in Hillringsberg, SE
Art Deco Sgraffito vase decorated with a floral motif, by Josef Ekberg for Gustavsberg. Sgraffito is a way of combining two layers into a pattern, the second layer is scraped of and ...
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Art Deco Vase Gustavsberg Sgraffito Josef Ekberg, Sweden, 1922
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Japanese Antique Shigaraki Ware 17th Century / Pottery Vase Vessel Wabi Sabi
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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...
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1930s Vintage Gustavian Vases and Vessels

Materials

Crystal, Pewter

Mid Century Modern Large Green Art Glass Handblown Glob Vase
Located in Chesterfield, NJ
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1960s Italian Vintage Gustavian Vases and Vessels

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Vintage Mid-Century Orrefors Crystal Decanter with Stopper
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...
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Mid-20th Century Swedish Gustavian Vases and Vessels

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Large Signed Earth Tone Raku Pottery Handled Vase
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
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Late 20th Century American Gustavian Vases and Vessels

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Previously Available Items
Small Swedish Style Metal Gilt Edge Wastebasket with Vintage Feel
Located in Sheffield, MA
Rustic and elegant at the same time, add a neoclassical country touch to your bedroom, bathroom or office. The gold gilt edging gives it a Classic vintage/antique feel. Suitable for ...
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21st Century and Contemporary Gustavian Vases and Vessels

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Metal

Swedish Style Gilt Edge Metal Wastebasket with Vintage Feel
Located in Sheffield, MA
Rustic and elegant at the same time, add a neoclassical country touch to your bedroom, bathroom or office. The gold gilt edging gives it a Classic vintage/antique feel. Suitable for any décor, modern, Art Deco, neoclassical, classical, Swedish Gustavian, French Louis style or, simply gracious country setting. We don't stock these but they can be ordered with a short lead time if multiple units are needed. Office waste basket...
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21st Century and Contemporary Gustavian Vases and Vessels

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Pair of Swedish Wood Painted Urns C.1930's
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Pair of Swedish painted wood urns with separate lids. Great accessory for a table or bookshelf.
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1930s Swedish Vintage Gustavian Vases and Vessels

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Danish Soholm Ceramic Vase by Noomi Backhausen
Located in Waddinxveen, ZH
Nice quality vase by the Soholm Pottery. Marked at the bottom.
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1960s Danish Vintage Gustavian Vases and Vessels

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Earthenware

Swedish Style Metal Gilt Edge Wastebasket with Vintage Feel
Located in Sheffield, MA
Rustic and elegant at the same time, add a neoclassical country touch to your bedroom, bathroom or office. The gold gilt edging gives it a Classic vintage/antique feel. Suitable for ...
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21st Century and Contemporary Gustavian Vases and Vessels

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Swedish Style Metal Gilt Edge Wastebasket with Vintage Feel
Located in Sheffield, MA
Rustic and elegant at the same time, add a neoclassical country touch to your bedroom or bathroom. The gold gilt edging gives it a Classic vintage/antique feel. Suitable for any déc...
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21st Century and Contemporary Gustavian Vases and Vessels

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Tin

Pair of Gustavian "Blyberg" Porphyry Urns with Ormolu-Mounted Porphyry Lids
Located in Stockholm, SE
A rare pair of late Gustavian "Blyberg" porphyry urns with ormolu-mounted porphyry lids. Early 19th century. Made in Älvdalens porphyry factory founded in 1788. The Swedish Porphyry ...
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Early 19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Vases and Vessels

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Porphyry, Bronze

18th-19th Century Swedish Bitter Churner
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Wonderfully worn patina on this late 18th-early 19th century. Swedish butter churner. Late 18th-19th century. butter churner. Pine wood, great smooth natural worn patina. Would work...
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Early 19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Vases and Vessels

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Gustavian Silver Beaker, Pehr Zethelius, Stockholm, 1809
By Pehr Zethelius
Located in Stockholm, SE
Gustavian silver beaker, Pehr Zethelius (1740-1810), Stockholm, 1809.  
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Early 1800s Swedish Antique Gustavian Vases and Vessels

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Silver

18th Century Swedish Cast Iron Mortar
Located in Allerum, SE
An unusual and sculptural 18th century Swedish cast iron mortar with a great patinated surface. Condition: Very good. Wear: Wear consistent wi...
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Late 18th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Vases and Vessels

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Iron

18th Century Swedish Cast Iron Mortar
18th Century Swedish Cast Iron Mortar
H 9.06 in W 5.52 in D 5.52 in
Swedish 19th Century Glass Vase
Located in New York, NY
Swedish 19th Century glass vase.
Category

19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Vases and Vessels

Materials

Glass

Swedish 19th Century Glass Vase
Located in New York, NY
A Swedish glass vase made during the early 19th Century.
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19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Vases and Vessels

Materials

Glass

Gustavian vases and vessels for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Gustavian vases and vessels for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage vases and vessels created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include decorative objects, serveware, ceramics, silver and glass and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with ceramic, metal and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Gustavian vases and vessels made in a specific country, there are Europe, Scandinavia, and Sweden pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original vases and vessels, popular names associated with this style include Eric Ernander, Noomi Backhausen, and Soholm Pottery. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for vases and vessels differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $371 and tops out at $9,550 while the average work can sell for $2,550.

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