Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
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.
18th Century European Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
Early 19th Century Baltic Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Walnut, Burl
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Walnut, Spruce
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Cherry
Late 19th Century Unknown Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Walnut
19th Century French Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Pine
Late 19th Century Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Marble, Brass
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Walnut
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Walnut
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Fruitwood
19th Century Unknown Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Maple, Bone
Early 20th Century Belgian Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Marble
20th Century Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood, Maple, Spruce
1830s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Cherry
1880s Danish Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Mahogany
Mid-19th Century Danish Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Mahogany
1840s German Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Elm
Early 19th Century Danish Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
1830s German Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Walnut
1850s Swedish Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Birch
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Satinwood
19th Century French Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Cherry
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Walnut
20th Century Austrian Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Birdseye Maple
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Walnut
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Walnut
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Oak
Early 19th Century Danish Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Mahogany
1820s Danish Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Mahogany
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Pine
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Mahogany
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Fruitwood
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
19th Century Unknown Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Ormolu
Late 19th Century Scandinavian Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Oak, Pine
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Cherry
Late 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Birch
20th Century Austrian Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood
1890s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Marble
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Marble
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Birdseye Maple
Early 19th Century Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
1860s German Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
1840s German Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Birch
1860s Swedish Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Walnut
19th Century European Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Rosewood
20th Century German Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood
1830s Belgian Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Birch
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Walnut
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Walnut
1880s Swedish Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Mahogany
20th Century German Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
Early 1900s Swedish Antique Biedermeier Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Mahogany