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Art Nouveau Sideboards

ART NOUVEAU STYLE

In its sinuous lines and flamboyant curves inspired by the natural world, antique Art Nouveau furniture reflects a desire for freedom from the stuffy social and artistic strictures of the Victorian era. The Art Nouveau movement developed in the decorative arts in France and Britain in the early 1880s and quickly became a dominant aesthetic style in Western Europe and the United States.

ORIGINS OF ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE DESIGN

CHARACTERISTICS OF ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE DESIGN

  • Sinuous, organic and flowing lines
  • Forms that mimic flowers and plant life
  • Decorative inlays and ornate carvings of natural-world motifs such as insects and animals 
  • Use of hardwoods such as oak, mahogany and rosewood

ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW

ANTIQUE ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS

Art Nouveau — which spanned furniture, architecture, jewelry and graphic design — can be easily identified by its lush, flowing forms suggested by flowers and plants, as well as the lissome tendrils of sea life. Although Art Deco and Art Nouveau were both in the forefront of turn-of-the-20th-century design, they are very different styles — Art Deco is marked by bold, geometric shapes while Art Nouveau incorporates dreamlike, floral motifs. The latter’s signature motif is the "whiplash" curve — a deep, narrow, dynamic parabola that appears as an element in everything from chair arms to cabinetry and mirror frames.

The visual vocabulary of Art Nouveau was particularly influenced by the soft colors and abstract images of nature seen in Japanese art prints, which arrived in large numbers in the West after open trade was forced upon Japan in the 1860s. Impressionist artists were moved by the artistic tradition of Japanese woodblock printmaking, and Japonisme — a term used to describe the appetite for Japanese art and culture in Europe at the time — greatly informed Art Nouveau. 

The Art Nouveau style quickly reached a wide audience in Europe via advertising posters, book covers, illustrations and other work by such artists as Aubrey Beardsley, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Alphonse Mucha. While all Art Nouveau designs share common formal elements, different countries and regions produced their own variants.

In Scotland, the architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh developed a singular, restrained look based on scale rather than ornament; a style best known from his narrow chairs with exceedingly tall backs, designed for Glasgow tea rooms. Meanwhile in France, Hector Guimard — whose iconic 1896 entry arches for the Paris Metro are still in use — and Louis Majorelle produced chairs, desks, bed frames and cabinets with sweeping lines and rich veneers. 

The Art Nouveau movement was known as Jugendstil ("Youth Style") in Germany, and in Austria the designers of the Vienna Secession group — notably Koloman Moser, Josef Hoffmann and Joseph Maria Olbrich — produced a relatively austere iteration of the Art Nouveau style, which mixed curving and geometric elements.

Art Nouveau revitalized all of the applied arts. Ceramists such as Ernest Chaplet and Edmond Lachenal created new forms covered in novel and rediscovered glazes that produced thick, foam-like finishes. Bold vases, bowls and lighting designs in acid-etched and marquetry cameo glass by Émile Gallé and the Daum Freres appeared in France, while in New York the glass workshop-cum-laboratory of Louis Comfort Tiffany — the core of what eventually became a multimedia decorative-arts manufactory called Tiffany Studios — brought out buoyant pieces in opalescent favrile glass. 

Jewelry design was revolutionized, as settings, for the first time, were emphasized as much as, or more than, gemstones. A favorite Art Nouveau jewelry motif was insects (think of Tiffany, in his famed Dragonflies glass lampshade).

Like a mayfly, Art Nouveau was short-lived. The sensuous, languorous style fell out of favor early in the 20th century, deemed perhaps too light and insubstantial for European tastes in the aftermath of World War I. But as the designs on 1stDibs demonstrate, Art Nouveau retains its power to fascinate and seduce.

There are ways to tastefully integrate a touch of Art Nouveau into even the most modern interior — browse an extraordinary collection of original antique Art Nouveau furniture on 1stDibs, which includes decorative objects, seating, tables, garden elements and more.

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Style: Art Nouveau
Period: 19th Century
Late 19th century Swedish birch art nouveau cabinet on chest
Located in Debenham, Suffolk
Good quality art nouveau inspired cabinet on chest circa 1890. Comprising of 2 parts.  Top section of a double and single door cupboard containing a shelf.  Doors glazed with latice...
Category

Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Art Nouveau Sideboards

Materials

Birch

Art Nouveau Buffet Cabinet / Credenza / Sideboard in Mahogany, circa 1900
Located in Lüdinghausen, DE
Buffet cabinet restored Art Nouveau circa 1900 mahogany credenza sideboard Features: Wide base with low, tapered top Very high quality processing Drawers pronged High-quality ...
Category

19th Century Antique Art Nouveau Sideboards

Materials

Mahogany

Art Nouveau Sideboard Veneered with Oak, the Turn of the 19th and 20th Century
Located in Opole, PL
Art Nouveau Sideboard Veneered with Oak, the Turn of the 19th and 20th Century We present you a big, representative oak and oak burl sideboard from the turn of the 19th and 20th cen...
Category

Late 19th Century European Antique Art Nouveau Sideboards

Materials

Oak

Late 19th Century Art Nouveau Credenza Display Cabinet, by Bassano's Ebanistery
Located in Vigonza, Padua
1890s, Art Nouveau mirrored credenza with display cabinet all in solid cherrywood. Elegant cast bronze panels with Classic floral motifs of the perio...
Category

Late 19th Century Italian Antique Art Nouveau Sideboards

Materials

Bronze

Art Nouveau Provencal Hand-Carved Solid Wood Sideboard Restored and Wax Polished
Located in Vigonza, Padua
Late 19th century Art Nouveau Provencal credenza cupboard, hand-carved solid wood restored and wax polished Measure cm: H 100/220 W 120 D 44 Antique precious and elegant two-body s...
Category

Late 19th Century French Antique Art Nouveau Sideboards

Materials

Wood

1900s Antique Credenza Sideboard Art Nouveau with Display Cabinet & Mirror
Located in Vigonza, Padua
Code: FM32 Manufacturer: Cucchi - Sola Ammobigliamenti - Torino Particular sideboard in two parts. Lower part, with the shelf and two large upper drawers, two doors and interior shel...
Category

Late 19th Century Italian Antique Art Nouveau Sideboards

Materials

Glass, Walnut

Pine Sideboard Cabinet With Floral Carving, Denmark circa 1890
Located in Round Top, TX
Danish pine sideboard with lovely art nouveau style floral carving along front door panels. Restored and waxed, this cabinet has a great interior divided shelving for storage and org...
Category

Late 19th Century Danish Antique Art Nouveau Sideboards

Materials

Pine

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Art Nouveau sideboards for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Art Nouveau sideboards for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage sideboards created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include case pieces and storage cabinets, tables and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with wood, metal and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Art Nouveau sideboards made in a specific country, there are Europe, France, and Italy pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original sideboards, popular names associated with this style include Louis Majorelle, August Ungethüm Kunstmöbel-Fabrik, August Ungethüm, and Galileo Chini. 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 sideboards differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,375 and tops out at $35,771 while the average work can sell for $7,157.

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