Like France’s Empire style, Regency-style furniture was rooted in neoclassicism; the characteristics of its bedroom furniture, armchairs, dining room tables and other items include clean lines, angular shapes and elegant details.
Dating roughly from the 1790s to 1830s, antique Regency-style furniture gets its name from Prince George of Wales — formally King George IV — who became Prince Regent in 1811 after his father, George III, was declared unfit to rule. England’s Regency style is one of the styles represented in Georgian furniture.
George IV’s arts patronage significantly influenced the development of the Regency style, such as the architectural projects under John Nash, which included the renovation of Buckingham House into the formidable Buckingham Palace with a grand neoclassical facade. Celebrated designers of the period include Thomas Sheraton, Henry Holland and Thomas Hope. Like Nash, Hope instilled his work with classical influences, such as saber-legged chairs based on the ancient Greek klismos. He is credited with introducing the term “interior decoration” to English with the 1807 publishing of Household Furniture and Interior Decoration.
Although more subdued than previous styles like Rococo and Baroque, Regency interiors incorporated copious use of chintz fabrics and wallpaper adorned in chinoiserie-style art. Its furniture featured fine materials and luxurious embellishments. Furniture maker George Bullock, for instance, regularly used detailed wood marquetry and metal ornaments on his pieces.
Archaeological discoveries in Egypt and Greece informed Regency-era details, such as carved scrollwork, sphinxes and palmettes, as well as the shape of furniture. A Roman marble cinerary chest, for example, would be reinterpreted into a wooden cabinet. The Napoleonic Wars also inspired furniture, with martial designs like tented beds and camp-style chairs becoming popular. While the reddish-brown mahogany was prominent in this range of pieces, imported woods like zebrawood and ebony were increasingly in demand.
Find a collection of antique Regency tables, seating, decorative objects and other furniture on 1stDibs.
$5,284 / set
Pair of Acorn Mahogany Knife Boxes, 20th Century
Located in GB
A very fine pair of mahogany inlaid knife boxes with a lavish, floral pattern embellished. Each box has a pencil-poster themed top originating from the vertical column beds popular i...
Rosewood
19th Century Pair of Mahogany William IV Cutlery Urns, ca 1835
Located in Essex, MA
Pair of William IV Mahogany and Ebony Inlaid Cutlery Urns, England, c. 1835, domed square lid fluted and carved with leaf motif, canted and paneled sides with fluted corners set on c...
Ebony, Mahogany
$4,640 / set
Pair of Regency Satinwood Knife Boxes
Located in New York, NY
With mahogany banding and checkerbanding throughout; with slanted, hinged lid opening to a fitted interior.
Mahogany
George II Cross Banded Mahogany Cutlery Box, circa 1760
Located in Ottawa, Ontario
A George II cross-banded Mahogany cutlery box, circa 1760. Bow front box with original brass hardware and red velvet-covered interior. Me...
Mahogany
Early 19th C Cutlery Tray W/ Scallop Edges
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Early 19th C Cutlery tray w/ Scallop Edges. Hand crafted. Good Condition.
Wood
Pair of Exceptional Georgian Style Carved Walnut Urn Form Knife Boxes
Located in Bridgeport, CT
A very fine and rare pair of Urn Form knife boxes with telescoping lids and myriad cut-outs for utensils in the interior. Urn shapes with both lids and urns made in sections. The lid...
Walnut
$10,200Sale Price / set|32% Off
H 28 in Dm 11.5 in
Pair of American Mahogany Urn Cutlery Boxes with Fluted Medallion Gallery C 1820
Located in Charleston, SC
Pair of American mahogany flanking Urn telescopic cutlery boxes with acorn finials, fluted medallion gallery, original interior cutlery slots, and resting on turned ringed circular s...
Mahogany, Pine
$1,296Sale Price / set|21% Off
H 9.45 in W 9.06 in D 1.78 in
19th Century Set of Twelve Antique Sterling Silver 'Entremet' Knives
Located in LA CIOTAT, FR
A 19th century set of twelve antique sterling silver 'Entremet' knives, the blades hallmarked with the 950/100 Minerva head stamp and offered in their original blue silk-lined presen...
Sterling Silver
18th Century George III Mahogany Footed Knife Boxes
Located in New Orleans, LA
An exceedingly rare and important pair of George III-period mahogany knife boxes of exceptional quality and condition. The boxes are of serpentine form with refined crossbanded and c...
Serpentine
$390
H 2 in W 8 in D 10 in
Early 20th Century Anton Wingen Jr. Solingen Germany Stag-Handled Knife Set
Located in Northport, MI
A handsome boxed set of six early 20th-century German steak knives by Anton Wingen Jr., renowned Solingen cutlers celebrated for their fine craftsmanship and decorative blade etching...
Stainless Steel
Pair of George III Mahogany Cutlery-Urns
Located in Kilmarnock, VA
A refined and decorative pair of Sheraton period cutlery urns, dating to the late 18th century, showcasing the balance and precision of English neoclassicism. Each urn features a dom...
Ebony, Mahogany, Satinwood
Mahogany Burl Knife Box Attributed to Theodore Alexander
Located in Doylestown, PA
Theodore Alexander attributed mahogany knife box. A serpentine hinged lid reveals an open interior. Beautiful box adorned with reticulated brass hardware with side drop handles and...
Mahogany
$17,000 / set
H 14.75 in W 9 in D 11 in
Pair of English Mahogany Serpentine Inlaid Cutlery Boxes. Circa 1790
Located in Charleston, SC
Pair of English mahogany serpentine inlaid slant top cutlery boxes with exterior Satinwood inlaid conch shells, satinwood and ebony inlaid interior stars, with original slotted fitt...
$350
H 1.5 in W 8 in D 9.5 in
Early 20th Century Anton Wingen Jr. Solingen Germany Stag-Handled Knife Set
Located in Northport, MI
An elegant early 20th-century English fish service for six, featuring engraved silver-plated blades and tines paired with smooth, polished bone handles. Each piece is finely detaile...
Silver Plate, Nickel
Pair of George III Mahogany Knife Boxes, UK, Early 19th Century
Located in Montreal, QC
This pair have the typical shape of boxes from this period, with shaped serpentine front, sloped hinged lid, and boxwood and ebony lines. Each cover is inlaid with an oval patera and...
Mahogany
A Stylish Pair of English Late Regency Mahogany Cutlery Boxes
Located in San Francisco, CA
A good pair of English figured mahogany late Regency cutlery boxes of architectural form, the stepped tops headed with acorn finials, the lower section of trapezoidal form with cross...
Mahogany
Sold
H 71 in W 19 in D 19 in
Pair of 18th Century George III Mahogany Dining Room Pedestals and Cutlery Urns
Located in Essex, MA
Pair of George III mahogany dining room pedestals with cutlery urns. The urns with telescoping tops which reveal cutlery divisions. Urns inlaid mahogany. The pedestals, each with a deep drawer applied with oval "pearl" beading revealing a lead-lined removable compartment, the comforting beaded cupboard doors enclosing two metal-mounted plate racks and heating drawer. The other pedestal with a shelf above a lead-lined six wine bottle box...
Mahogany
Pair of 19th Century Regency Sarcophagus Shaped Cutlery Urn Boxes
Located in Essex, MA
Pair of early 19th Century mahogany sarcophagus shaped cutlery or "Knife" urns. Original silvered shield lock plates, carved hairy paw feet. Original fitted interiors Wonderful choic...
Mahogany