Biedermeier Seating
The authentic Biedermeier furniture on 1stDibs is representative of the first modern European decorative style not dictated by the tastes of the aristocracy. Following the Napoleonic wars, a growing, wealthy urban middle class in the German-speaking states of Central Europe began to demand rights and privileges once granted only to nobles. To avoid trouble, the upwardly striving confined their political discussions to one another’s homes. And so the salon was born.
Cabinetmakers in cities such as Vienna, Berlin and Mainz began to offer goods that reflected the tastes and needs of the new class. The makers of Biedermeier chairs, tables and other furniture used little or no gilding, silver hardware or other lavish ornament. Ebonized trims are common on Biedermeier cabinetry, and neoclassical elements — lyre-shaped chair splats, carved scrollwork, table supports shaped like Greek columns. But the strongest aesthetic statement came from the wood — richly-grained, honey-colored, often book-matched veneers of walnut and fruitwood.
There are two iconic Biedermeier furniture forms, both made to outfit rooms designed for conversation. One is the sofa, deeply upholstered with a strong, architectural wooden frame. The second is the circular pedestal table, which stood at the center of the room, offering a surface on which to place coffee and cake services; or to roll out a map, or sketch out ideas on paper.
“Biedermeier” was originally a derogatory term — it derives from the pen names of two German magazine writers who mocked bourgeois manners. Looking at the elegant and refined antique, new and vintage Biedermeier furniture offered on 1stDibs, that is now an amusing irony.
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Seating
Birch
Early 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Seating
Mahogany
1830s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Wood
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Maple, Upholstery, Fruitwood
20th Century Swedish Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Wood
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Cherry
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Nutwood
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Walnut
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Cherry, Softwood, Fabric, Velvet
1820s Swiss Antique Biedermeier Seating
Walnut
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Velvet, Ebony, Maple, Walnut, Paint
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Bouclé, Cherry
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Upholstery, Velvet, Cherry, Ebony
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Birch, Mahogany
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Cherry
1830s European Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fruitwood
1810s French Antique Biedermeier Seating
Mahogany
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Linen, Oak
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Cherry
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Ebony, Mahogany
20th Century French Biedermeier Seating
Mahogany
Early 1900s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Velvet, Walnut
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Cherry
1810s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fruitwood
1820s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood, Cherry, Lacquer
1820s French Antique Biedermeier Seating
Cherry, Paint
1830s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood, Oak, Walnut, Spruce
Mid-20th Century Unknown Biedermeier Seating
Mohair
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Gold Plate
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Cherry, Paint
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Mahogany, Maple
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Walnut
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Walnut
20th Century Austrian Biedermeier Seating
Wood, Beech
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Mahogany
1830s European Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood, Ash, Lacquer
20th Century Hungarian Biedermeier Seating
Mohair, Wood, Birch
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Mahogany
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Cherry
1850s French Antique Biedermeier Seating
Wood, Lacquer, Maple, Walnut
1770s Italian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Walnut
20th Century German Biedermeier Seating
Birch
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Silk, Wood
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Walnut
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Linen, Oak
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Mahogany
19th Century Czech Antique Biedermeier Seating
Yew
1820s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood, Cherry, Oak
Mid-20th Century Hungarian Biedermeier Seating
Wood
1840s Czech Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Wood, Cherry
Late 20th Century Unknown Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Wood
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Cherry, Fabric
1850s French Antique Biedermeier Seating
Wood, Maple, Lacquer, Cherry, Satinwood
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Wood, Birch
1840s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Birch
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Wood, Walnut, Lacquer
1840s Czech Antique Biedermeier Seating
Lacquer, Upholstery, Fabric, Wood, Walnut
1830s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Wood, Walnut, Lacquer