Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Neoclassical design emerged in Europe in the 1750s, as the Age of Enlightenment reached full flower. Neoclassical furniture took its cues from the styles of ancient Rome and Athens: symmetrical, ordered, dignified forms with such details as tapered and fluted chair and table legs, backrest finials and scrolled arms.
Over a period of some 20 years, first in France and later in Britain, neoclassical design — also known as Louis XVI, or Louis Seize — would supersede the lithe and curvaceous Rococo or Louis XV style.
The first half of the 18th century had seen a rebirth of interest in classical antiquity. The "Grand Tour" of Europe, codified as a part of the proper education of a patrician gentleman, included an extended visit to Rome. Some ventured further, to sketch the ruins of ancient Greece. These drawings and others — particularly those derived from the surprising and rich archaeological discoveries in the 1730s and ’40s at the sites of the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum — caused great excitement among intellectuals and aesthetes alike.
Neoclassical furniture is meant to reflect both grace and power. The overall appearance of neoclassical chairs, tables and cabinetry is strong and rectilinear. These pieces are, in effect, classical architecture in miniature: chair and table legs are shaped like columns; cabinets are constructed with elements that mirror friezes and pediments.
Yet neoclassicism is enlivened by gilt and silver leaf, marquetry, and carved and applied ornamental motifs based on Greek and Roman sculpture: acanthus leaves, garlands, laurel wreaths, sheaves of arrow, medallions and chair splats are carved in the shapes of lyres and urns. Ormolu — or elaborate bronze gilding — was essential to French design in the 18th and 19th centuries as a cornerstone of the neoclassical and Empire styles.
As you can see from the furniture on these pages, there is a bit of whimsy in such stately pieces — a touch of lightness that will always keep neoclassicism fresh.
Find antique neoclassical furniture today on 1stDibs.
Early 19th Century French Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Ormolu
19th Century Italian Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Iron
1880s French Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Crystal, Bronze
19th Century French Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Crystal, Ormolu
19th Century French Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Marble, Bronze, Ormolu
19th Century Baltic Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Crystal, Ormolu
1890s American Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Crystal, Ormolu
19th Century French Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Bronze, Ormolu
19th Century Russian Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Crystal, Bronze, Ormolu
Late 19th Century American Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Art Glass
1890s French Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Bronze
1850s English Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Art Glass
Early 1800s German Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Bronze
1890s Austrian Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Brass
19th Century French Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Crystal, Ormolu
Late 19th Century American Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Crystal, Rock Crystal, Bronze
Late 19th Century American Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Crystal, Bronze
1890s French Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Alabaster, Bronze
19th Century European Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Crystal, Metal
1870s Italian Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Brass
19th Century French Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Alabaster, Metal
19th Century French Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Alabaster, Bronze
19th Century Baltic Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Crystal, Ormolu
19th Century French Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Bronze, Ormolu
Early 19th Century German Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Metal
19th Century Italian Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Bronze
19th Century Italian Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Crystal
Late 19th Century Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Bronze
19th Century French Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Bronze, Brass
19th Century Italian Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Crystal, Metal, Iron
1890s Austrian Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Brass
1880s Russian Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Crystal, Bronze
19th Century Russian Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Crystal, Ormolu
19th Century Baltic Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Crystal, Metal, Brass
19th Century Italian Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Crystal
1830s Italian Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Crystal, Gold Leaf, Tin, Iron
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Crystal, Gold Leaf, Tin, Iron
19th Century French Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Crystal, Ormolu
19th Century Baltic Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Ormolu
19th Century French Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Bronze, Ormolu
19th Century French Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Bronze, Ormolu
19th Century Russian Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Crystal, Ormolu
1810s English Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Brass
19th Century Spanish Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Brass
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Bronze
Early 1800s Austrian Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Crystal, Brass
19th Century Baltic Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Crystal, Ormolu
1840s Italian Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Giltwood, Ebony, Wood, Gesso
1840s Irish Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Crystal, Silver
19th Century Baltic Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Crystal, Ormolu
Early 19th Century Swedish Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Fir
19th Century Baltic Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Crystal, Ormolu
19th Century Italian Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Ormolu
19th Century Russian Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Rock Crystal, Ormolu
19th Century Russian Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Bronze, Ormolu
19th Century Italian Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Bronze, Ormolu
19th Century French Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Bronze, Ormolu
19th Century French Antique Neoclassical Chandeliers and Pendants
Ormolu