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Black Forest Home Accents

BLACK FOREST STYLE

Although its name evokes a mountainous region in Germany, antique Black Forest–style furniture originated in Switzerland. In Brienz, during the early 19th century, wood-carver Christian Fischer recognized the market for tourist souvenirs and helped make the village into a wood-carving destination. The Brienz Woodcarving School was founded in 1884 and had its own small zoo for studying the anatomy of animals, depictions of which are a defining aspect of the style, also known as Brienzerware.

Whimsical sculptures, often depicting bears and other Alpine animals like stags, owls, deer and boars, characterize the work produced in the area. Along with folk art and decorative objects, Black Forest furniture included benches held aloft by bears, umbrella stands carved with acorns and clock cases adorned with scrolling oak leaves. While most wood-carvers adhered to a similar realism in their designs and woods like linden, maple and walnut, their aesthetics varied.

The F. Peter Trauffer family was known for their hand-carved bear sculptures that saw the furry mammals playing instruments, smoking pipes and engaging in all sorts of human activities. They were sometimes detailed with glass eyes and integrated into functional pieces of furniture, including chair backs and bench legs, which generations of cabinetmakers created from the 1880s to the 1950s. Walter Mader and his son Heinrich frequently carved Saint Bernard sculptures that they incorporated into furniture.

As the Black Forest furniture style spread around the world through exhibitions at world’s fairs in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the rusticity of these pieces resonated at a time of increasing urbanization, inspiring other artisans.

Find a collection of antique Black Forest cabinets, bedroom furniture, seating and other items on 1stDibs.

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Style: Black Forest
Black Forest Walnut Library Ladder
Located in Queens, NY
Rustic Black Forest (19th Cent) walnut 3 step library ladder with carved branch design. (late 19th cent.)
Category

19th Century German Antique Black Forest Home Accents

Materials

Walnut

19th Century carved oak black forest fire screen
Located in Debenham, Suffolk
19th century carved oak black forest fire screen circa 1880. Beautifully carved example of black forest woodwork.  Typical foliage and scrolling carved branches surmounted by a carv...
Category

Late 19th Century German Antique Black Forest Home Accents

Materials

Tapestry, Oak

Antique 19th Century Black Forest Bear Book Shelf / Book Rack Hand Carved Swiss
Located in Ijzendijke, NL
Gorgeous 19th century antique Black Forest Extendable bookshelf hand carved from Switzerland. Lovely carved bears by a master carver & Black Forest floral styled base. These make mar...
Category

Late 19th Century Swiss Antique Black Forest Home Accents

Materials

Wood

German Black Forest Carved Boar Bookends
Located in San Mateo, CA
Pair of black forest carved boar bookends. The carving on these has excellent detail and craftsmanship. These were purchased by an army major that was stat...
Category

1940s German Vintage Black Forest Home Accents

Materials

Wood

Hand Carved Wooden Sculpture Bookends Two Reading Men
Located in Barntrup, DE
These beautifully hand carved wooden bookends feature sculptures of two sitting and reading man, an older and younger man that could be a teacher a...
Category

1950s German Vintage Black Forest Home Accents

Materials

Wood

Antique 19th Century Black Forest Bear Adjustable Book Shelf / Book Rack Swiss
Located in Ijzendijke, NL
Exquisite & rare! This 19th century black forest books rack/ book shelf with ''Bears holding baby bears'' bookends hand carved Swiss. Gorgeous 19th century antique Black Forest bookstand...
Category

Late 19th Century Swiss Antique Black Forest Home Accents

Materials

Fruitwood

Rustic Black Forest Walnut Trunk
Located in Queens, NY
Rustic Black Forest walnut floor trunk with a folding rounded top and supported on "X" form side legs with faux wood, straps, and floral carved design.
Category

19th Century Swiss Antique Black Forest Home Accents

Materials

Walnut

Rustic Black Forest Walnut Cat Bookends
Located in Queens, NY
Rustic Black Forest (19th Century) carved walnut adjustable bookends with cat figures.
Category

19th Century Antique Black Forest Home Accents

Materials

Walnut

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Library Ladder with Brass Top Handle
Located in Round Top, TX
Very nice library ladder with brass top handle. Rare and fun. Very cool.
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1940s Italian Vintage Black Forest Home Accents

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Library Ladder with Brass Top Handle
Library Ladder with Brass Top Handle
$1,600
H 65.75 in W 26.5 in D 26.5 in
19th Century French Folding Library Step Ladder
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Handsome late 19th century French country folding library ladder. Featuring a handcrafted design with seven rungs or steps and iron hardware. From an estate in Santa Barbara, CA.
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19th Century French Antique Black Forest Home Accents

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Iron

Antique Library Ladder with Great Patina
Located in Los Angeles, CA
19th C. rustic library ladder. Most of the original paint has worn off but it has a great patina.
Category

20th Century Unknown Black Forest Home Accents

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Antique Library Ladder with Great Patina
Antique Library Ladder with Great Patina
$570 Sale Price
40% Off
H 99 in W 26 in D 9 in
Lovely Pair of Hand Carved Art Deco Turtle Sculptures Out of Oakwood Bookends
Located in Lisse, NL
Endearing pair of stylish and quality carved turtle bookend. If you like animal sculptures in general and turtles and turtle sculptures in particular then you will love this pair ...
Category

Early 20th Century European Black Forest Home Accents

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Wood, Oak

1900s French Vintage Artists Painting Ladder / Library Steps / Shop Display
Located in Markington, GB
1900s French vintage fruit picking / painting ladder. 1900s French vintage artists painting ladder library steps / shop display This ladder will be great as an vintage library steps...
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20th Century French Black Forest Home Accents

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Metal

1900s French Vintage Artists Painting Ladder / Library Steps / Shop Display
1900s French Vintage Artists Painting Ladder / Library Steps / Shop Display
$236 Sale Price
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H 40.56 in W 16.54 in D 28.75 in
Antique & Sturdy Solid Teak Wood Late Victorian Era Library Stairs / Steps 1890s
Located in Lisse, NL
Unique and top quality crafted, solid teak, library steps with dovetail joints. In all our years of buying and selling rare antiques we have never had the priviledge of finding antique English...
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Late 19th Century European Antique Black Forest Home Accents

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Art Deco Wooden Asian Elephant Bookends Hand Carved Rosewood India 1940s
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Large vintage Asian hand-carved wood elephant bookends. Vintage 1940s wooden bookends with carved elephant sculptures carvings. A wonderful quality pair of French Art Deco style hand...
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Early 20th Century Indian Black Forest Home Accents

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Rosewood

Delassement by Max Le Verrier Art Deco Style Bookends Sculptures Reading Ladies
Located in Ulm, DE
“Delassement” by Max Le Verrier – Art Deco Bookends, Paris, France Elevate your space with the timeless sophistication of these Art Deco style bookends, “Delassement,” designed by t...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary French Black Forest Home Accents

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Marble, Spelter

19th Century French Hand Carved Gilded Four Leaves Folding Screen
Located in Sofia, BG
French hand carved four leaves folding screen in gilded wood decorated with ribbon tori. Double mirrors at the high part and original silk upholstery until the bottom of each leave. ...
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Mid-19th Century French Antique Black Forest Home Accents

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Modern Black Oak Ladder, Medium
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Our Black Bloak Ladders are made of solid white oak finished with ink to blacken them while still letting the natural beauty of the wood grain come through. We use them to display blankets, towels or scarves. Great at the beach house for bathing suits and towels, as a drying rack for lavender or herb or in a guest room...
Category

2010s American Black Forest Home Accents

Materials

Oak

Modern Black Oak Ladder, Medium
Modern Black Oak Ladder, Medium
$635 / item
H 72 in W 23 in D 1 in
Very Rare and Fine Large 19th Century Brass Fire Screen
Located in Dublin, IE
A very rare and fine 19th Century brass fire screen, of exceptional quality, fully restored and of grand proportions. The protective wire mesh of shaped, rectangular form is set with...
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19th Century French Antique Black Forest Home Accents

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Early 20th Century Austrian Library Ladder, Antique Folk Art
Located in Nuernberg, DE
Created in Austria around 1920s and standing strong and very sturdy, this is a real beauty in every House. Versatile and practical, the elegant essential is in very good used conditi...
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20th Century Austrian Black Forest Home Accents

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Previously Available Items
Finely Carved Antique Black Forest Extendible Bookends with Pheasants Brienz
Located in Bad Säckingen, DE
Finely carved antique Brienz or Black Forest extendible bookends featuring intricate pheasant motifs. These bookends showcase exceptional craftsmanship, with detailed depictions of p...
Category

1880s German Antique Black Forest Home Accents

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Wood

Carved Antique Black Forest Trunk from France, Circa 1890
Located in Dallas, TX
Black Forest is a style that originated in Switzerland in the early 1800’s, with a focus on realistic and elaborate carvings of figures, animals, and vegetation. Hand-carved in Franc...
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Cast Iron Standing Bear Bookends
Located in San Juan Capistrano, CA
Cast iron standing bear bookends. Japan, circa 1990.
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20th Century Japanese Black Forest Home Accents

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Cast Iron Standing Bear Bookends
Cast Iron Standing Bear Bookends
H 5.5 in W 3.63 in D 2.75 in
Black Forest Bronze Bookends
Located in New York, NY
Set of cast Bronze stylized deer bookends with detailed antlers and coat.
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Mid-20th Century German Black Forest Home Accents

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Black Forest Bronze Bookends
Black Forest Bronze Bookends
H 10 in W 3.5 in D 4 in
Black Forest Book Rack, Bookstand, Carved Squirrel Acorn Leaf Bookends, Antique
Located in Ijzendijke, NL
Antiquelate 19th century black forest books rack/ book shelf with folding squirrels and acorn leaf bookends hand carved Swiss Gorgeous 19th century antique Black Forest bookstand...
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Carved Black Forest Trunk, France, circa 1890
Located in Atlanta, GA
French Black Forest carved wood trunk with hinged lift top and grapevine motif, circa 1890.
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Swiss Black Forest Nutwood Book Stand Fox and Partridge Sculptures / Carvings
Located in Lisse, NL
Rare and all handcrafted antique Black Forest bookstand. If you are a collector of Swiss Black Forest antiques in general and of those with fox...
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Black Forest Turn of the Century Chest with Logs, Foliage and Fabric, circa 1900
Located in Atlanta, GA
A Black Forest chest from the turn of the century, with faux branches, foliage and velvet fabric. Created at the end of the 19th, beginning of the 20th century, this Black Forest che...
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19th Century Swiss Black Forest Carved Dowry Chest or Trunk with Needlework
Located in Haarlem, NL
Charming hand carved mid-sized wooden Folk Art dowry chest from the Black Forest area of Switzerland, made circa the turn of the century. It features a beautifully hand carved flor...
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Late 19th Century Swiss Antique Black Forest Home Accents

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Fabric, Walnut

Unique & Hand Carved Antique Black Forest Firescreen w. Knight Helmet Embroidery
Located in Lisse, NL
Beautifully handcrafted antique Black Forest fireplace screen. This beautifully hand carved antique from the late 1800s currently is the only Black Forest firescreen for sale anywhere. It certainly is the only one on 1stdibs and to have been able to purchase it in this wonderful condition more than made our day. What makes this antique truly stand out are the beautifully detailed Black Forest branch and leaf patterns. However, there are three more reasons why this rare antique is exceptional. First of all, it does not have and never had a single woodworm hole and for a Black Forest antique from the 1800s that is really rare. Secondly, there is not one piece of a carved branch or leaf missing. If you look very closely at the back then you can see there have been a few minor restaurations (in the form of a few pieces having been glued back), but other than that the condition is excellent. And thirdly, this fine antique also comes with a hand-embroidered, oval shape coat of arms depicting a knight's helmet and more. This could be the crest of a town, but it could also be of a certain family. We were unable to find out more about it, but it simply looks great and the colors perfectly complement the wonderful patina of this antique screen. For those who did not yet know; this handcrafted and highly decorative screen was placed in front of a fireplace in the summertime so that people would not look into the dark (and sometimes dirty) fireplace itself. Finally, there was some very old fabric behind all three panels, but it was worn and it made it impossible to remove all the old dust that was inside the carvings and on the back. We decided to remove the fabric, but we left the antique 'thumbtacks' in place, in case the new owner wants to replace it (we will send a part of the antique fabric along if you wish). Our sharp price for this antique firescreen...
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19th Century European Antique Black Forest Home Accents

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Wool, Wood

Antique Black Forest Fire Place Screen
Located in Round Top, TX
The unique beauty of a Black Forest antique lays within the distinctive carving style used. In this lovely fireplace screen, notice the intricate ...
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Late 19th Century German Antique Black Forest Home Accents

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Antique Hand Carved Black Forest Wooden Lodge Design, Late 1800s Chest or Trunk
Located in Lisse, NL
Excellent workmanship and very cool looking antique chest. This 19th century and all handcrafted chest is perfect for decorating the interior of your lodge, but also in a home env...
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19th Century German Antique Black Forest Home Accents

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Black Forest home accents for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Black Forest home accents for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the Mid-20th Century, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage home accents created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include more furniture and collectibles, decorative objects, case pieces and storage cabinets and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with wood, walnut and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Black Forest home accents made in a specific country, there are Europe, Germany, and Switzerland 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 home accents differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $464 and tops out at $8,500 while the average work can sell for $1,653.

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