Rococo Sculptures and Carvings
ROCOCO STYLE
Rococo was an aesthetic movement in the fine and decorative arts in the 18th century that found its inspiration in nature and fostered an overall lightness and delicacy of form, construction and ornament in interior design. Rococo furniture, while greatly influenced by trends in Italy and Germany, is often called Louis XV style — the movement having reached its best expression during that sybaritic French king’s reign.
The term “rococo” is thought to be a portmanteau of the French words rocaille and coquilles — “rock” and “shells” — organic motifs frequently used in architecture and design of the style.
When it comes to authentic Rococo furniture's characteristics, it is above all sensuous and social. The furniture of earlier eras in Europe had been heavy in every sense; the Rococo period saw the appearance of light-framed upholstered armchairs, side chairs and occasional tables that could easily be moved to form conversational circles.
The signal detail of Rococo furniture design is the gently curved cabriole, or S-shaped chair-, table-, and cabinet-leg. It imitates the bend of a tree limb or a flower stem. In a further reference to nature, furnishings were often asymmetrical and painted white, or in soft, pastel shades. Rococo has become a timeless style, and as the furniture pieces presented on 1stDibs demonstrate, its playful, sculptural forms can provide visual excitement to contemporary, clean-lined spaces.
to
6
2
8
489
177
72
35
33
26
13
12
11
8
8
8
5
3
2
2
1
4
4
5
4
2
2
1
6
3
1
1
1
8
8
8
Style: Rococo
A pair of 18th century Austrian winged cherubs
Located in London, GB
A beautiful pair of 18th century Austrian carved gilt wood angel cherubs with their original hooks to the back .
Category
Mid-18th Century Austrian Antique Rococo Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Giltwood
$2,604 / set
Opulent 18th Century Baroque Reliquary of Blood of Saint St. Francis '15th Cent'
Located in North Miami, FL
Opulent 18th century Baroque carved giltwood reliquary (a container for relics) monstrance with curled scroll design. It houses a first-class relic of the blood of the15th Century sa...
Category
15th Century and Earlier Antique Rococo Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Wood, Giltwood
19th Century Travail Par Kossowsk Mantel Clock
Located in Dallas, TX
Elegant Antique Clock crafted from a green marble base, adorned with intricate brass floral and foliate accents in the Rococo style. At the center, the clock face features Roman nume...
Category
19th Century European Antique Rococo Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Monumental 19th Century Giltwood Frame
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Very unusual. Have never seen one like this. Most likely had a painting inset, but mirror could be placed inside. Stand alone or hang on wall.
Category
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Rococo Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Giltwood
Early 19th Century French Carved Giltwood Figural Winged Putti Table Lamp
Located in Forney, TX
A fabulous French Empire period giltwood figural candlestick, early 19th century, now professionally electrified and fashioned as a single-light table lamp.
Exquisitely hand carve...
Category
Early 19th Century French Antique Rococo Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Gesso, Giltwood
Two Terracotta Lions with Shields, French, Mid-18th Century
Located in Spencertown, NY
Possibly designs for Chenets.
Category
1750s French Antique Rococo Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Terracotta
Pair of 18th Century Native American Tobacco Store Hanging Trade Figures
Located in Nantucket, MA
Extremely rare and very special pair of 18th century native American tobacco store hanging trade figures, hand carved in the half round full length figur...
Category
18th Century American Antique Rococo Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Wood
19th Century Marble Corbels - Set of 5
Located in Southall, GB
Set of 5 Assorted 19th Century Marble Corbels:
1 x Large Green verde Antico Cartouche: Height - 31cm / width 33.5cm / Depth - 6cm at thickest part
2 x Apricot / white marble Corbels...
Category
19th Century French Antique Rococo Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Marble
Related Items
Late 19th / Early 20th Century French Art Nouveau Table Lamp
Located in San Francisco, CA
An exceptional wrought iron lamp base. We believe this was probably a custom crafted gas newel post lamp originally. A considerable amount of skilled workmanship went into the iron work with an Art Nouveau design of acorns and oak leaves. The flame glass shade...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Rococo Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Wrought Iron
$1,488 Sale Price
25% Off
H 25.25 in W 6 in D 6 in
18th Century French or Italian Santo Nativity Figure
Located in Nantucket, MA
18th century French or Italian Santo Nativity Figure, a hand carved and painted fruitwood figure for a Christmas Crèche or Krippe. Excellent and delicate details to the head and hands. The half figure stands on a dowel set into platform base, dressed in original fine linen robe...
Category
18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Linen, Fruitwood
Large 19th Century Stone Sphere
Located in Vosselaar, BE
Stone spheres as these where made from antiquity to the present day. As a universal form it served as a ornamental object in gardens, architecture and interiors but also had a deeper...
Category
Mid-19th Century French Antique Rococo Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Stone
19th Century Pipe Head
Located in Vosselaar, BE
You just got to love this guy! A wacky looking bearded Indian pipe head. Probably 19th century France. Beautifully carved by a artisan with a sense of humor.
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Rococo Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Wood
Pair of 19th Century Italian Giltwood Candlesticks Table Lamps
Located in Atlanta, GA
A Pair of Italian giltwood 19th century candlesticks made into table lamps. Silver gilt over Gesso.
This pair of 19th century candlestick lamps has been wired for the US.
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Rococo Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Gesso, Wood
$3,370 / set
H 34 in W 8.25 in D 8.25 in
18th Century Wooden Cross, Guanajuato, Mexico
Located in Point Richmond, CA
Wooden cross
Guanajuato, Mexico
Wood, paint
22 x 13 inches, (56 cm x 33 cm)
18th century
A wonderful old wooden cross with a painted crucified Christ figure, an angel, possibly Mary Magdelene...
Category
18th Century Mexican Antique Rococo Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Wood, Paint
19th Century Bronze Sheep Handcrafted Sculpture
Located in Los Angeles, CA
19th century handmade bronze sheep sculpture. No signature or makers mark.
Category
19th Century American Antique Rococo Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Bronze
19th Century French Bouillotte Table Lamp
Located in LA CIOTAT, FR
A late 19th century Louis XV-style Bouillotte table lamp, with original, green, gilt- decorated tole lampshade, above a base of three upturned decorative brass candle arms supported ...
Category
19th Century French Antique Rococo Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Brass
18th/19th Century Italian Baroque Silvered Metal Altar Monstrance Reliquary
Located in Forney, TX
A stunning antique Italian Baroque style silvered metal gilded wood monstrance reliquary. circa 1770-1820
Handmade in Italy in the late 18th / early 19th century, commissioned by the church to display an important religious relic, sculptural painted wood form, mounted with decorative silver repousse metal facing, open oval window where the philatory relic was once housed, rising on a gold gilt painted shaped plinth base.
Dimensions: (approx)
17" High, 8" Wide, 5" Deep, 1.25lbs
History:
Reliquaries (also referred to as a shrine or châsse in French), are containers used to protect and display relics. A portable reliquary may be called a fereter, and a chapel in which it is housed a feretory. A monstrance, also known as an ostensorium (or an ostensory), is a vessel used in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, High Church Lutheran and Anglican churches for the display on an altar of some object of piety, such as the consecrated Eucharistic host during Eucharistic adoration or Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. It is also used as reliquary for the public display of relics of some saints.
The use of reliquaries became an important part of Christian practices from at least the 4th century, initially in the Eastern Churches, which adopted the practice of moving and dividing the bodies of saints much earlier than the West, probably in part because the new capital of Constantinople, unlike Rome, lacked buried saints. Relics are venerated in the Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic and some Anglican Churches. Reliquaries provide a means of protecting and displaying relics. While frequently taking the form of caskets, they range in size from simple pendants or rings to very elaborate ossuaries.
The relics were enshrined in containers crafted of or covered with gold, silver, gems, and enamel. These objects constituted a important form of artistic production across Europe and Byzantium throughout the Middle Ages.
Many were designed with portability in mind, often being exhibited in public or carried in procession on the saint's feast day or on other holy days. Pilgrimages often centered on the veneration of relics. The faithful often venerate relics by bowing before the reliquary or kissing it; those churches which observe the veneration of relics distinguish between the honor given to the saints and the worship that is due to God alone.
Sixteenth-century reformers such as Martin Luther opposed the use of relics since many had no proof of historical authenticity and objected to a cult of saints. Many reliquaries, particularly in northern Europe, were destroyed by Calvinists or Calvinist sympathizers during the Reformation...
Category
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Rococo Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Metal
$2,250
H 17 in W 8 in D 5 in
Early 20th Century Scratch Built Church Model
Located in London, GB
Early 20th century scratch built Church model
We share what we love, and we love this scratch-built pine model of a church. Hand carved detail with gla...
Category
Early 1900s British Antique Rococo Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Pine
Early 19th Century French Empire Bouillotte Three Light Table Lamp
Located in Vero Beach, FL
Early 19th Century French Empire Bouillotte Three Light Table Lamp.
Beautiful French Empire brass Bouillotte lamp with three dolphin decorated scrolled arms. A finely chiselled stem...
Category
Early 19th Century French Antique Rococo Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Brass
Vintage St. Therese Chalkware Bust
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Large St. Therese chalkware bust found on the east coast of the United States. Great early paint surface with the right amount of ware and age. Depicts ...
Category
Early 20th Century American Rococo Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Composition
Previously Available Items
18th Century Chopping Board Walnut for Bread or Cheese
Located in Epfach, DE
18th century walnut cutting board for bread and cheese. this unusual cutting board adorns every kitchen and dining table for serving bread and cheese, as well as for cutting cheese. ...
Category
1760s Swiss Antique Rococo Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Iron
Wooden 19th Century Polychrome Sculpture Of A Medieval Tower
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
An early 19th century European hand carved and painted sculpture of a medieval tower in wood with its old patina.
Category
1790s Belgian Antique Rococo Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Hardwood
Rococo sculptures and carvings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a broad range of unique Rococo sculptures and carvings for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 19th Century, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage sculptures and carvings created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include folk art, decorative objects, more furniture and collectibles and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with wood, giltwood and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Rococo sculptures and carvings made in a specific country, there are Europe, France, and Italy pieces for sale on 1stDibs. 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 sculptures and carvings differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $599 and tops out at $16,500 while the average work can sell for $4,400.