Rococo was an aesthetic movement in the fine and decorative arts in the 18th century that found its inspiration in nature and fostered an overall lightness and delicacy of form, construction and ornament in interior design. Rococo furniture, while greatly influenced by trends in Italy and Germany, is often called Louis XV style — the movement having reached its best expression during that sybaritic French king’s reign.
The term “rococo” is thought to be a portmanteau of the French words rocaille and coquilles — “rock” and “shells” — organic motifs frequently used in architecture and design of the style.
When it comes to authentic Rococo furniture's characteristics, it is above all sensuous and social. The furniture of earlier eras in Europe had been heavy in every sense; the Rococo period saw the appearance of light-framed upholstered armchairs, side chairs and occasional tables that could easily be moved to form conversational circles.
The signal detail of Rococo furniture design is the gently curved cabriole, or S-shaped chair-, table-, and cabinet-leg. It imitates the bend of a tree limb or a flower stem. In a further reference to nature, furnishings were often asymmetrical and painted white, or in soft, pastel shades. Rococo has become a timeless style, and as the furniture pieces presented on 1stDibs demonstrate, its playful, sculptural forms can provide visual excitement to contemporary, clean-lined spaces.
Italian Marquetry Inlaid Mixed Wood Maggiolini Style Secretary Desk
Located in Long Branch, NJ
Fabulous Italian Inlaid Mixed Wood Maggiolini Style Secretary Desk Dimensions : 95" Tall X 44" Wide X 22" Deep This desk is a work of art! The secretary desk was made in Italy and ...
Burl
Rococo 18th century Swedish yew and elm bureau desk
Located in Debenham, Suffolk
Rococo 18th century yew and elm bureau desk circa 1750. Stunning swedish rococo period bombe shaped bureau. Beautifully made from yew wood and elm, using various techniques such a...
Elm, Yew
Bureau Bookcase Oak German Serpentine Front Original Brassware Working Locks
Located in BUNGAY, SUFFOLK
A large, museum quality, 18th century, German, oak bureau bookcase with a serpentine front, original brassware and working locks As fine an example of this model of German cabinet f...
Oak
18th Century Rococo Writing Desk
Located in Ljungby, SE
This beautifully crafted Swedish Rococo writing desk is a distinguished piece of Stockholm workmanship from the 1760s-70s. The desk features gracefully curved legs and three finely v...
Bronze
French Porcelain and Gilt Bronze Mounted Writing Desk
Located in London, GB
French porcelain and gilt bronze mounted writing desk French, 19th Century Height 116cm, width 91cm, depth 51cm This stunning bonheur du jour was made in France during the 19th...
Ormolu
$14,000Sale Price|22% Off
Venetian Rococo Style Walnut Secretary Lacquered by Ira Yeager
By Ira Yeager
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Fantastic late 19th century Italian secretaire cabinet or bookcase made in the Venetian Rococo taste. Crafted from walnut the two-part case features a speckled lacquer finish centered by a cartouche shaped window with a painted bust by artist Ira Yeager (American 1938-2022). The bureau cabinet has a bombe shaped dresser base with a drop front diminutive writing table. The drop front has two storage drawers and a small pigeon hole storage above. Below the desk are two small drawers and two large storage drawers with rocaille patinated brass pulls. The dresser is supported by small cabriole legs with scrolled feet. The dresser is surmounted by a bookcase with a painted door depicting a nobleman holding a chicken. The painting is painted on board titled "Venezia" and signed by Yeager with a fictitious date of 1725. The door opens to a three-shelf bookcase. The case is topped with a pediment having a cartouche shaped window and corniced top. The entire secretary is speckled with a mustard yellow tone over a taupe background. This whimsical cabinet...
Brass
Swedish Rococo Slant Front Desk, circa 1760
Located in Huntington, NY
A Swedish Rococo slant front desk. Front opens to reveal a large work surface, ten pull out drawers, seven cubbies and two pull out document holders. A sliding cover at the base open...
Brass, Iron
18th Century Scandanvian Rococo Giltwood and Walnut Bureau Bookcase
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A very impressive 18th Century Rococo carved giltwood and Walnut bureau bookcase, having wonderful scrolling foliate and plume decoration to the cornice, a single mirror door with gi...
Walnut, Giltwood
Swedish Rococo Slant Front Corner Desk, circa 1760
Located in Huntington, NY
An unusual Swedish Rococo slant front corner desk. Desktop opens to reveal an ample working surface, ten small drawers with brass knobs and a locking cubby door. Interior tastefully ...
Brass, Iron
18th Century Swedish Bombe Shaped Bureau Signed by Eric Holm
Located in Tetbury, Gloucestershire
18th Century Swedish period Rococo bombe shaped bureau. Signed by the renowned Stockholm furniture maker Eric Holm. Fall front desk upends to work space and storage drawer and shelv...
Wood
French Louis XVI Style Roll Top Desk in Mahogany and Gilt Bronze
By Jean-Henri Riesener
Located in Vancouver, British Columbia
An imposing Louis XVI style roll top desk in beautifully figured mahogany and having finely chased and gilded bronze mounts; the green marble top with a bronze gallery above three lo...
Marble, Bronze
George III Bureau Desk or Secretary Chest from the 18th Century
Located in Austin, TX
A fine George III slant top desk or bureau secretary chest of elm, oak and padouk woods, c.1780 - an inlaid slant front drops to reveal a series of small drawers and document compart...
Metal, Brass
18th Century Swedish Gustavian Writing Desk Circa 1790
Located in Atlanta, GA
This 18th-century Swedish Gustavian writing desk, circa 1790, embodies the clean lines and restrained elegance characteristic of the Gustavian style, which was inspired by the neocla...
Brass
$4,142
H 47.25 in W 47.05 in D 18.51 in
Mid-Century Modern Vintage Walnut Ash Desk Bureau Secretary, 1950s, Italy
Located in Vienna, AT
Mid-Century Modern vintage secretary desk bureau Ico Parisi style from walnut and ash veneers designed and manufactured 1950s Italy. The beauti...
Ash, Walnut
$2,695
H 82 in W 36 in D 18.5 in
Henredon Georgian Walnut Drop Front Secretary Desk With Bookcase Hutch
By Henredon
Located in South Bend, IN
A beautiful Georgian or Queen Anne style bureau with drop front secretary desk and bookcase hutch top By Henredon USA, Circa 1980s Gorgeous figured walnut, with original bra...
Brass
Custom 1950s Wall Mounted Modernist Writing Desk
Located in San Diego, CA
Unique handmade custom wall-mounted writing desk made in the 1950s. Solid birch construction with patinated brass accents and a smooth black laminate desk surface that folds up when ...
$450,000
H 62.5 in W 82 in D 41 in
French 19th-Century Louis XV Style Figural Gilt-Bronze Mounted Bureau-Plat Desk
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Palatial French 19th-Century Louis XV style figural gilt bronze mounted tulipwood marquetry three-drawer bureau-plat cartonnier with Dual clock-works by Lenoir, Paris, surmounted wit...
Ormolu
18th Century George III Mahogany Kneehole Desk
Located in Chelmsford, Essex
For sale is a very good quality 18th century George III mahogany kneehole desk, having a well figured mahogany top, above a brushing slide with a single drawer below. The desk has a ...
Mahogany
$1,330
H 38 in W 33 in D 20 in
18th Century George III Mahogany Bureau Desk. Slant Front Writing Secretary.
Located in Vero Beach, FL
18th Century George III Mahogany Bureau Desk. Slant Front Writing Secretary. This 18th century English bureau desk has 3 rows of graduated hand do...
Brass
$2,995
H 83 in W 32.5 in D 18.75 in
John Stuart Georgian Burl Wood Drop Front Secretary Desk with Bookcase Hutch
By John Stuart
Located in South Bend, IN
A beautiful Georgian or Queen Anne style bureau with drop front secretary desk and bookcase hutch top By John Stuart USA, circa 1960s Gorgeous burled walnut, with leather wr...
Brass
Antique French Secretary
Located in Malibu, CA
This early 19th-century drop-leaf secretaire features the traditional Biedermeier ebony accents, columns, and matched woodgrain pattern. Unlike the h...
Brass, Other
Swedish Secretary with Marquetry
Located in New York, NY
A masterpiece of symmetry, the cantilevered sides of the body meet the rectangular working surface, creating a setback for the upper writing surface. Crafted of Nordic birch and fir,...
Birch
Sold
H 42.52 in W 41.74 in D 20.48 in
A Black Rococo Foldable Writing Desk With Drawers, Circa 18th Century Sweden
Located in Helsinki, FI
A beautiful 18th Century Rococo style writing desk in pink and black (bluish black) featuring a cuff mechanism that opens up to a writing tab...
Pine
Rococo 18th century yew and elm bureau desk
Located in Debenham, Suffolk
Rococo 18th century yew and elm bureau desk circa 1750. Stunning swedish rococo period bombe shaped bureau. Beautifully made from yew wood and elm, using...
Yew
19th c. Swedish Rococo Painted Fall Front Desk
Located in Wichita, KS
A 19th century Swedish fall-front bureau in the Rococo style wearing beautiful black paint, circa 1800. One large drawer with key, scalloped apron, and slender cabriolet legs. There ...
Wood, Paint
French Rococo Desk Louis XV Style
Located in Buxton, GB
This Rococo-style writing desk was crafted in the 1950s, featuring a stunning rosewood finish and intricate carvings that exude the elegance of the Louis XV style. The antique desk b...
Bronze
Sold
H 54 in W 42 in D 28.5 in
Antique Dutch Early 19th Century Walnut Marquetry Cylinder Desk / Bureau 1820
Located in Portland, OR
A Fine & exceptional antique early 19th century Dutch Rococco marquetry inlaid cylinder bureau/desk, Circa 1820. The desk is sumptuously and profusely inlaid with fruitwood marquetr...
Fruitwood, Walnut
Dutch Rococo Marquetry Miniature Desk
Located in Essex, MA
With curved lid opening to a fitted interior with three drawers below and bracket feet. Beautifully crafted in a bombe form. Much time and skill went into making this piece. Sometime...
Walnut
19th Century Northern Italian Rococo Writing Desk Cabinet
Located in Forney, TX
A rare and magnificent Italian Rococo pewter inlaid fruitwood three piece writing desk with beautiful rich patina. Born in Northern Italy in the first half of the 19th century, exquisite hand-crafted construction, featuring fine quality craftsmanship, materials and detailing throughout. The exceptionally executed, impressive large scale antique writing desk surmounted by serpentine upper portion fitted with nine drawers and a locking cabinet with original key included; the mid-portion with shaped fall-front writing surface panel concealing five short shelve pigeonhole cubbies, flanked on each side by deep drawers, and resting atop four large chest drawers; the façade with highly attractive richly figured burled veneer outlined with fine pewter inlay and contrasting exotic woods inlays; standing on carved walnut cabriole legs joined by curved X-shaped cross stretcher. Marks to verso: A.U. 17, A.U. 20 Provenance: Skinner, Boston, Massachusetts; European Furniture and Decorative Arts catalog, October 5, 2013, lot 784. Property from the Estates of Ramon Osuna (1937-2019) and Robert Lennon (1933-2021), Washington, D.C. Longtime Washington-area art dealers, Mr. Osuna was born in Havana and came to the Washington area soon after Fidel Castro came to power in 1959. He initially made his name as a dealer in contemporary art but gradually expanded into the Old Masters. With his longtime friend and partner Lennon, he owned galleries in Washington for many years and, at his death, also had Osuna Art...
Pewter
Sold
H 81.5 in W 43.69 in D 22.82 in
18th C. Swedish Rococo Period Two-Part Painted Secretary with Library
Located in Wichita, KS
A Swedish secretary with library from the Rococo period, circa 1760. The upper section has two shaped shelves and a multitude of small drawers. The slant front opens to reveal six wa...
Wood, Paint
Mid-Century Hand Painted Venetian Bombay Form Secretary
Located in Kennesaw, GA
This is a 1960s hand painted Venetian bombay form secretary. It is a wonderful shade of green with Italian pastoral scenes throughout. It is in very good condition.
Brass
19th Century Venetian Rococo Style Painted Desk
Located in Middleburg, VA
19th Century Venetian Rococo style desk Measures: 73" H, 26" W, 16" D.
Wood, Paint
Sold
H 35.04 in W 43.31 in D 35.04 in
18th Century Swedish Fall Front Bureau with Small Interior Compartments
Located in London, England
Late Circa 18th century Swedish fall front bureau. The interior comprises of small drawers and compartments over three long deep drawers. The bureau comes in one piece and features d...
Oak
Rococo Black Lacquered Desk
Located in Westwood, NJ
An English Rococo black lacquered desk with gilt-tooled red leather top, carved and gilded decorations with three shaped frieze drawers and cabriole...
Leather, Wood