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Aesthetic Movement Globes

AESTHETIC MOVEMENT

In 1880, polymath designer William Morris declared: “If you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” His words encapsulated the Aesthetic Movement, which prized beauty above all and blurred the lines between fine art and the decorative arts, particularly through lavishly crafted furniture pieces.

The Aesthetic Movement, whose major proponents included author Oscar Wilde, flourished from the 1860s to the 1880s and was mostly popular in England and the United States. Design expositions like the 1876 Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia, as well as the publishing of how-to books for interior design, helped disseminate Aesthetic Movement bedroom furniture, serveware, coffee tables and other items, especially to the middle class.

The establishment of new art museums, art clubs and a rising passion for collecting at the time contributed to a growing appreciation for art. Morris’s founding of Morris & Co. in 1862 and the commercializing of this “cult of beauty” by the Liberty store in London, starting in the late 19th century, further disseminated the idea of a domestic space that was thoughtfully and floridly designed.

Leading Aesthetic Movement furniture designers included E.W. Godwin, who drew on Japanese influences and whose work reflected a wider enthusiasm for imported East Asian art. British designer Christopher Dresser created textiles, ceramics and more that were also inspired by Japanese decorative art but were representative of additional diverse design sources that ranged from Egypt to Mexico.

The Aesthetic Movement’s eclecticism resulted in dazzling interiors. Japanese fans were positioned on Renaissance-inspired cabinets with brass hardware, while mantels made of rich walnut or finely carved ebonized wood and adorned with painted Minton tiles mingled with cast-iron chairs against a backdrop of floral wallpaper. In 1881, in New York City, stenciled checkerboard motifs and painted floral murals could be found under an opalescent glass chandelier in a luxurious dressing room designed by German émigré cabinetmaker-decorator George Alfred Schastey. Amid the rise of the industrial age, the style’s promotion of art in everyday life would inform the Arts and Crafts Movement and Art Nouveau.

Find a collection of antique Aesthetic Movement seating, tables, decorative objects and other furniture and antiques on 1stDibs.

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Style: Aesthetic Movement
A Library Terrestrial Globe With Wrought Iron Base
Located in Brussels, Brussels
a fine library terrestrial globe from the 60s made in Italy Very beautiful wrought iron base of good quality resting on a tripod base The globe is removable on its cradle for trans...
Category

20th Century Italian Aesthetic Movement Globes

Materials

Wrought Iron

Small Terrestrial Globe From J.forest - Paris
Located in Brussels, Brussels
Very beautiful little Terrestrial Globe from the beginning of the 20th century circa 1910 by J. Forest Paris Rue de Bucci The Terrestrial Globe has a very beautiful blackened wooden...
Category

Early 20th Century French Aesthetic Movement Globes

Materials

Paper

Large Terrestrial Globe From Handels Und Verkehrsglobus 69cm High
Located in Brussels, Brussels
Superb terrestrial globe by Handels Und Verkehrsglobus from the beginning of the 20th century from Leipzig Very large model which has a height of 69 cm and a very beautiful blackene...
Category

Early 20th Century German Aesthetic Movement Globes

Materials

Paper

Related Items
A truly delightful miniature terrestrial pocket globe
Located in ZWIJNDRECHT, NL
A truly delightful miniature terrestrial pocket globe in a celestial case, 3 inches / 6.8 cm. The globe consists of 12 wonderful varnished, engraved hand-coloured gores that stretch from pole to pole. In the original case of black fish-skin with a brass hinge and two brass hook-and-eyelet closures, case with a unique silver plaque which reads: "B. Bellchamber S. King - Gul's Fox Summum Geographicum Praemium Pares Meruere". * [This very roughly translates to:] "B. Bellchamber S. King - Gul's Fox Earns Top Geographical Peers Award". *Is it too much to suppose and speculate that this wonderful silver plaque attached to the outer case is in recognition of a [geographic?] scholastic achievement? The prize awarded to the lucky recipients (B. Bellchamber & S. King?) is this globe? This terrestrial globe has two repairs; to the area concerning the British Isles, and also to parts of Europe and Scandinavia (with some loss). There is some slight loss to a portion of North America, and there is a crack to the northern portion of South America. It is partly worn in other places and has some slight spotting. It is lacking the axis metal pin, and the two holes that normally allow for this pin have been closed. The case is split and segmented, partly rubbed and worn with cracks, (as is usual.) The case will close. There is some minor chipping and cracking to the outer rim of the inside of the case. About Pocket Globes. It is generally thought that Joseph Moxon brought pocket globes to England in the late seventeenth century. These globes usually consist of a terrestrial sphere of about 7.5 cm in diameter that fits into an outer case (usually made of fish-skin). The interior of this case often bears bright, colourful celestial cartography, so you effectively have the celestial heavens surrounding the terrestrial earth. Pocket globes, although highly desirable, are for all intents and purposes somewhat impractical, as their size makes accurate calculations impossible. Few, if any, pocket globes came with accompanying booklets, so it is hard for anyone to know who used them and for what purposes. Pocket globes could simply have served purely as status symbols for wealthy gentlemen, who had an interest in geography or astronomy. The fields of geography and the sciences were quickly advancing during this period. Alternatively, pocket globes could be seen as a tool used in children’s education, especially when you think that they are construction from cheap materials such as papier-mâché. Points of Interest. This particular globe shows California as a peninsula, whereas previously it had been depicted as an island – a misconception dating back to the sixteenth century; it has the northwest coast of America simply as "unknown parts."; - due to a profound lack of knowledge of the region; the track of Admiral George Anson’s circumnavigation of the world (1740-44) is drawn – Anson led a squadron of eight ships on a mission to disrupt or capture the Pacific Ocean possessions of the Spanish Empire, for emphases, the trade winds are indicated by red arrows. There are three large lakes engraved in Africa that may longer exist. The Celestial Gores. The celestial gores, housed within the case, are fun and eye-catching both in their display and in their content. Constellations and both hemispheres and are represented. Gemini, Cancer, Virgo, Orion, Andromeda, Taurus, Leo, Ursa Major etc in the north, and Scorpio, Libra, Canis Major etc in the south. A celestial globe is a mapping of the stars, and has been used since classical times. Celestial globes were first used by Greek astronomers, and later by the Islamic world, where the earliest known globes date from the eleventh century. The stars were thought to sit on the surface of a giant sphere around the earth, and the constant movement of the stars each night and throughout the year appeared to be caused by this giant sphere slowly turning overhead. In line with its counterpart, the terrestrial globe, celestial globes are mapped by a north and a south pole, an equator, and lines of latitude and longitude. The Terrestrial Globe. The North Pole encompasses the Arctic Circle, Baffin Bay (Canada), Iceland, Greenland, northern Siberia and Nuova Zembla. Europe shows the Dominion of Muscovy (a principality of the late Middle Ages centered on Moscow), Turkey, the British Isles, Italy etc. Africa highlights the Barbary coast, Biledulgerid (a former country in North Africa), the Zaara Desart (Sahara Desert), Negroland (an archaic term in European mapping referring to large portions of West Africa), Guinea, Ethiopia, Congo, the islands of the Azores and the Canaries. Australia (New Holland) shows the outdated cartography of an incomplete coastline; The West Australian and Northern Territory coastlines are in full, however, there is no connected mainland coastline from South Australia up to Northern Queensland. Papua New Guinea is still thought to be a part of the Australian mainland. A portion of Tasmania’s coastline is engraved. The only places/regions mentioned are: Dimens Land and Carpentaria in the north; Lewins, St. Francis, Mary’s Island, South Cape, and Dimens Land in the south. Interestingly, a place named Hartog’s Island is mentioned off the West Australian coast. This island has a unique place within Australia’s history as it is the first recorded European landing on Australian soil in 1616 by the island’s namesake, Dutch captain Dirk Hartog...
Category

Mid-18th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Globes

Materials

Other

Replogle Terrestrial Floor Globe
Located in Asbury Park, NJ
This floor globe by Replogle floats within a ring of walnut, supported by four 'turned' chrome stiles, which connect to a base of walnut. The ...
Category

1960s American Vintage Aesthetic Movement Globes

Vintage Terrestrial Library Globe on Stand 20th Century
Located in London, GB
A fine vintage 16 inch terrestrial library globe on stand by Herff Jones Inc, USA, Circa 1980 in date. The globe is raised on a highly decorative ebonised tripod stand with brass ...
Category

1980s Vintage Aesthetic Movement Globes

Materials

Other

Late 19th Century Small Size Globe Edited by Philips Terrestrial London
Located in Casteren, Noord-Brabant
A lovely small size antique French globe. With a wooden base, the globe itself is made of carton with paper. The map is published by Philips Terre...
Category

1890s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Globes

Materials

Brass

Large Columbus Terrestrial Globe
Located in Cheshire, GB
Columbus terrestrial globe raised up on circular base. Dimensions Height 19.5 Inches Width 14.5 Inches Depth 14.5 Inches.
Category

Mid-20th Century British Aesthetic Movement Globes

Materials

Oak

Large Columbus Terrestrial Globe
Large Columbus Terrestrial Globe
H 19.5 in W 14.5 in D 14.5 in
Terrestrial Library Globe Replogle Chicago w/Astrological Banded Stand
Located in San Francisco, CA
Terrestrial Library globe Replogle Chicago with banded astrological holder/floor stand circa 1930's/1940's
Category

1930s Vintage Aesthetic Movement Globes

Materials

Wood, Paper

19th Century German Miniature Pocket Terrestrial Globe
Located in Essex, MA
A miniature 19th century 3.5 inch diameter pocket terrestrial globe by C. Abel-Klinger, Nuremberg, Germany, in English for the English speaking markets. Signed with cartouche reading...
Category

1880s German Antique Aesthetic Movement Globes

Materials

Brass

1940s Replogle Light Up Library Glass Globe On Wood Base
Located in Tarrytown, NY
1940s Replogle Light Up Library Glass Globe On Wood Base Needs Rewiring
Category

1940s Vintage Aesthetic Movement Globes

Materials

Metal

Large and Extremely Rare Terrestrial Globe by Newton
By Newton Globes - Planer & Newton
Located in Lymington, Hampshire
A large and extremely rare 24-inch terrestrial globe by Newton Our most magnificent and rare globes were a pair of 24-inch Newton globes. These too were updated in 1852 (terre...
Category

Mid-19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Globes

Materials

Mahogany

Rand McNally Twelve Inch Terrestrial Globe
Located in Savannah, GA
A Rand, McNally & Co. twelve inch terrestrial globe on cast iron base, first quarter 20th century. 15 inches wide by 12 inches deep by 23 inches tall
Category

Early 20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Globes

Materials

Iron

Vintage Reploge Terrestrial World Globe
Located in Douglas Manor, NY
2-309 vintage world globe with raised surfaces set on a custom walnut wood stepped base, circa 1960.
Category

1960s Vintage Aesthetic Movement Globes

Materials

Metal

Edwardian Terrestrial Geographia Tabletop Globe
By Geographia, Ltd.
Located in Norwich, GB
Edwardian terrestrial Geographia tabletop globe. Edwardian terrestrial Geographia 10 inch tabletop globe standing on a raised stained mahogany stand....
Category

1920s British Vintage Aesthetic Movement Globes

Materials

Paper

Aesthetic Movement globes for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Aesthetic Movement globes for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the Early 20th Century, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage globes created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include more furniture and collectibles and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with paper and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Aesthetic Movement globes made in a specific country, there are Europe, and Germany 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 globes differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,603 and tops out at $1,603 while the average work can sell for $1,603.

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