There is rare surviving furniture from ancient Greece, yet this classical style has informed design for centuries. Interiors of houses in antiquity were minimal, with much of a room’s color coming from frescoes on the walls and mosaics on the floors. Classical Greek furniture was sparing but finely crafted and influenced by Egyptian furniture design through Mediterranean trade.
Furnishings of the period were usually made from local wood like cypress, cedar, oak and willow from ancient Greece’s plentiful forests, although some pieces were carved from marble, such as a 300–200 B.C. throne with lion legs and a curved back now at the Getty Villa. Comfort and clean lines characterized designs during the Classical era, the symmetry and thoughtful proportions reflecting the architecture of Greek temples.
Some pieces of ancient Greek furniture were simple, rectangular platforms like the klinē, a multipurpose ancestor of today’s couches or daybeds that held cushions stuffed with wool, dry grass or down. These structures were used for both sleeping and dining, which wealthy Greeks did while reclining. At night, oil lamps illuminated rooms that frequently surrounded a garden courtyard.
Most of what scholars have learned about Greek furniture design owes to its representations in art like vases and stelae. The portable diphros stool, with its backless design and four turned legs, was one of the more common types of seating in daily Greek life — it appears as such for the gods on the Parthenon frieze. Stools without backs have been found in early Roman tombs, while benches were also common Greek seating furniture created for use in theaters. In houses of the Hellenistic period, benches seemingly functioned as tables, too.
Some designs evolved through adaptations by the Romans, including the klismos chair. After prominent archaeological excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum, the klismos chair — with its four saber legs and the elegant curves that define its back — was a source of inspiration for aesthetics in eras ranging from 18th-century neoclassicism to 20th-century Art Deco.
Find a collection of Classical Greek decorative objects, wall decorations and building and garden elements on 1stDibs.
Pair Green Gold 19th Century Crystal Vases, Greek Key Design Attributed Moser
By Moser
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Rich green blown crystal vases featuring 24 karat gold decoration throughout with the central portion having a Greek key design. This pair dates to the last half of the 19th century ...
Crystal, Gold
$12,500Sale Price|26% Off
Ancient Greek Translucent Yellow-Green Glass Ring with Bezel
Located in London, GB
This beautifully preserved Hellenistic glass ring is a timeless and stunning piece of ancient jewellery. Cast from transparent, light green glass, its large size and oval bezel - ori...
Glass
Bohemian black glass vase decorated with Grecian figures circa 1890
Located in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire
Bohemian Black Glass Decanter with Classical Roman Warrior Frieze, circa 1890 A striking and highly decorative late 19th-century Bohemian glass d...
Enamel
Ermanno Nason for Vetreria Cenedese, Scavo Glass Vase, Italy, 1964
Located in New York, NY
Provenance: Archive of Cenedese Glassworks, Murano, Italy. Ermanno Nason designed this beautiful scavo glass vase for Vetreria Gino Cenedese in 1964. It is inspired by Greek vase...
Glass
antique intaglio engraved amber goblet depicting Proserpina and Jupiter c 1880
Located in Central England, GB
An exceptional intaglio engraved goblet with a view of the Greek god Pluto abducting Proserpina who was the daughter of the Greek god Jupiter. This fabulous stemmed goblet is in my ...
Glass
Fine Antique Venetian Salviati Enameled Blue Glass Stemmed Cordial Glass Set
Located in Forney, TX
A magnificent collection of ten rare fine quality antique Italian hand blown enameled colored art glass stemmed cordial drinking glasses attributed to legendary glassmakers The Venic...
Enamel
A late 19th century French classical Grecian style glass vase circa 1880
Located in Central England, GB
This most elegant and pleasing classical Grecian style glass vase was made in France, circa 1880 and was inspired by ancient Greece. It has a tall baluster form stands on a small fla...
Glass
$647Sale Price|20% Off
H 12.41 in Dm 6.3 in
Red Boheme Crystal Vase cup Decorated with Grape Leaves, 19th Century Europe
Located in Beuzevillette, FR
Beautiful vase in red Bohemian crystal, mouth blown and chiseled on the wheel, decorated with diamonds and vine leaves. Very nice vase, cut for an elegant interior decoration. The r...
Crystal
$650 / set
H 13 in W 4.75 in D 2.5 in
Salviati, Murano Sommerso Glass, Blue Cobalt and Uranium Giraffe Sculpture
By Salviati
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This is part of a series called " Zoo" beautiful animals in sommerso glass .In black light you can see light uranium green glass .
Glass
$647Sale Price / set|20% Off
H 13.19 in Dm 2.37 in
Pair of Nason and Moretti Murano Glass, Amber and Gold Italian Goblets, 1980s
Located in Roma, IT
Pair of Murano crystal glass, amber and gold goblets glasses. Nason and Moretti designed these fantastic pieces in Murano, Venice, during the 1980s. This...
Glass, Art Glass, Murano Glass
$1,200
H 7.9 in W 4.9 in D 2.5 in
Moser, Czech, Heavy Intaglio Cut Glass, Flower, Glossy and Satin Vase, Signed
By Moser
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Amazing heavy cut work in this beautiful Moser vase. Sand blasted signature in bottom and plastic label in front. Moser. Czech Republic. Nice glossy and satin finish.
Art Glass
$3,330Sale Price|20% Off
H 6.58 in W 7.29 in D 4.85 in
Signed Cenedese 'a Scavo' Red, Yellow & Black Italian Murano Glass Vase 1989
By Cenedese
Located in Landau an der Isar, Bayern
Stunning Italian signed Cenedese Murano art glass vase or vessel with a wonderful modernist form made by Gino Cenedese e Figlio. An absolutely mesmerising piece of midcentury Venetian glass featuring a stunning range of glass masterwork techniques including the 'A Scavo' technique to give the piece the look and feel of excavated ancient Roman glass and also applied 'pinstripe' ribbons of colourful...
Blown Glass, Murano Glass
"Mondrian" Moser Crystal Vase
By Moser
Located in Paris, FR
The crystal Vase "Mondrian" was designed by Michal Kožený for the famous luxury glass factory Moser. Made of the most luxurious Czech crystal, this Mondrian vase...
Crystal
Venetian Salviati Hand Blown Vase Applied Pink Snakes Gold Leaf Inclusions
By Salviati
Located in Great Barrington, MA
This amazing hand blown Venetian vase made by Salviati, stands 20" tall and is decorated with applied pink and gold leaf. The vase has 2 intertwined snakes encircling the body and me...
Blown Glass
$8,260
H 5.88 in Dm 3 in
Antique Lobmeyr Ottoman Gilt and Enameled Glass Goblet with Islamic Calligraphy
By J.L Lobmeyr
Located in New York, NY
A magnificent antique Lobmeyr Islamic gilt and enameled glass goblet with Islamic calligraphy decoration, signed on the bottom by Lobmeyr. Most probably commissioned for the ottoman ...
Glass
$6,542 / set
H 4.73 in Dm 3.35 in
19th Century Pair of Opaline Crystal Perfume Bottle by Jean-Baptiste Desvignes
Located in Paris, FR
Pair of perfume bottles with their ball-shaped stoppers in “bulle de savon” (soap bubble) Opaline. They are each decorated with a frieze of gol...
Opaline Glass
Mid-19th Century Pair of Green Opaline Flasks
Located in Paris, FR
Pair of green opaline perfume flasks with pointed stoppers and flower-shaped saucers. The stoppers and flasks are decorated with diamond-shaped patterns that have gilded stripes outl...
Opaline Glass
Tiffany & Co. Glass Pitcher
Located in New York, NY
Tiffany & Co. glass pitcher. Classic American glass pitcher in the iconic Tiffany Bundle shape, United States, late 20th century. Dimensions: approximately 7" diameter x 6" H.
Glass
$1,845
H 4.5 in W 5 in D 20.75 in
Sculptural and Curvilinear Midcentury Translucent Glass Bowl by Daum, France
By Daum
Located in New York, NY
This refined and sculptural translucent glass bowl was produced by Daum, one of the most illustrious glass makers of the period in Nancy, France, circa 1950. Daum was awarded a Grand...
Glass
Classical Dolphin Form Cobalt Glass Candlesticks, 20th C
Located in Big Flats, NY
A pair of figural candlesticks offer molded cobalt art glass construction in dolphin form, 20th century. Measures - 8''H x 4.5''W x 4.5''D. Catalogue Note...
Glass
Vintage High Relief Glass Vase with Figures and Garden Elements, circa 1950
By Lalique
Located in Big Flats, NY
A vintage art glass vase offers bulbous form with upper having high relief scene with figures and garden elements, circa 1950. Measures: 7.5" height x 7" diameter. Catalogue Note: ...
Glass