Aesthetic Movement Seating
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.
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Wood, Paint
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Walnut
20th Century Aesthetic Movement Seating
Metal
Early 1800s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Leather, Walnut
Mid-20th Century English Aesthetic Movement Seating
Brass
Early 20th Century English Aesthetic Movement Seating
Oak
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Walnut
Late 19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Ultrasuede, Burl, Mahogany
1890s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Oak
19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Beech
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Walnut
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Oak
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Mahogany
Late 20th Century Chinese Aesthetic Movement Seating
Upholstery, Bamboo
19th Century Austrian Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Bentwood, Velvet
Late 19th Century Northern Irish Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Oak
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Walnut
Early 1800s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Oak
Late 19th Century European Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Bentwood
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Upholstery
Late 19th Century American Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Fabric, Wood
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Mahogany
1890s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Walnut
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Upholstery, Walnut
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Oak
1960s French Vintage Aesthetic Movement Seating
Fabric, Faux Bamboo
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Hide, Mohair, Mahogany
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Oak
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Zebra Hide, Oak
19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Velvet, Walnut
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Leather, Oak
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Upholstery, Wood
Early 20th Century Italian Aesthetic Movement Seating
Velvet, Walnut
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Brass
1890s British Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Walnut
Early 20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Seating
Fabric, Bamboo, Wood
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Walnut
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Oak
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Velvet, Wood, Ebony
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Walnut
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Oak
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Wood
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Beech
1940s Italian Vintage Aesthetic Movement Seating
Upholstery, Oak
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Majolica
1890s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Ash, Oak
1890s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Walnut
1970s Austrian Vintage Aesthetic Movement Seating
Cane, Wood
1880s Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Beech
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Cane, Walnut
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Leather, Mahogany
Mid-20th Century German Aesthetic Movement Seating
Early 20th Century Chinese Aesthetic Movement Seating
Bamboo
Late 18th Century Austrian Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Wood
1880s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Fabric, Wood
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Walnut
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Mother-of-Pearl, Oak
1950s Norwegian Vintage Aesthetic Movement Seating
Upholstery, Oak