Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
With clean lines and muted colors, antique Gustavian furniture is understated and elegant. It represents a more restrained version of the transition from Rococo to neoclassicism that was happening in France under Louis XVI. The style developed under Swedish King Gustav III, who reigned from 1771 until his assassination in 1792, and his son Gustav IV, who ruled until 1809. Although Gustavian furniture is mostly used to refer to pale painted cabinets, commodes, armchairs and other items, it involved a range of influences.
Gustavian-style furniture was inspired by discoveries at Pompeii and Herculaneum as well as the grandeur of European palaces like Versailles, with local softwoods such as pine and birch. There was also an emphasis on natural light; crystal chandeliers and large mirrors played a role in radiating the fleeting daylight of winter, giving it a distinctive aesthetic.
Where earlier furniture was curvy and florid, this new era was more architectural, with tapered and fluted legs and rectangular and oval shapes. Luminous gilt contrasted with the palette of soft blues on upholstery and painted surfaces. Leading furniture builders included Gottlieb Iwersson, Louis Masreliez and Erik Öhrmark. The latter, a French-born Swedish decorator, designed the Sulla chair, a seat that was demonstrative of technical skill and precise craftsmanship and drew on Greek klismos chairs. Masreliez’s Sulla chair was made by Öhrmark and featured decorative ornamentation produced by Jean-Baptiste Masreliez, Louis’s younger brother.
While the wealthy had furniture carved with neoclassical details like scallops and rosettes, more affordable options were adorned with faux finishes that mimicked marble and stenciled patterns. The simple elegance of Gustavian furniture would have a long impact on Swedish design, informing the 20th-century appreciation for function and form. In the 1950s, IKEA mass-produced copies of a Gustavian commode designed by cabinetmaker Georg Haupt, who created pieces for the Royal Palace, making the furniture a fixture of everyday Swedish life.
Find a collection of antique Gustavian seating, tables, decorative objects and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Mid-19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
Early 19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Pine
1890s Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
Early 19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Pine, Paint
Late 18th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Pine
1790s Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Limestone
19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
Early 19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
Early 20th Century Swedish Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
1980s Swedish Vintage Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Glass, Oak, Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
Early 19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
Late 18th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
Late 18th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood, Paint
Mid-19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Pine, Paint
19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
Mid-19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Glass, Pine
Late 18th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
Early 19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
1840s Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood, Paint
1970s Spanish Vintage Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
1790s Danish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Mahogany
Mid-19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Pine, Paint
Late 18th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Pine, Paint
Late 18th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
1910s Swedish Vintage Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
1940s Swedish Vintage Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
Late 18th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
1840s Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Walnut
19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
20th Century Scandinavian Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
1910s Swedish Vintage Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Pine
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
1910s Swedish Vintage Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Birch
1820s Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Mahogany
1940s Swedish Vintage Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
1940s Swedish Vintage Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Birch
1920s Swedish Vintage Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Pine
1940s Swedish Vintage Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
Early 19th Century Dutch Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Mahogany
1940s Swedish Vintage Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Paint, Wood
1940s Swedish Vintage Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Berlin Iron
1890s Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Pine
Early 1900s Swedish Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Pine
1950s Swedish Vintage Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
1940s Swedish Vintage Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Birch
1940s Swedish Vintage Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
1950s Swedish Vintage Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Birch
1950s Swedish Vintage Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
1940s Swedish Vintage Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Birch
Late 19th Century European Antique Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Bronze
1950s Swedish Vintage Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
Early 20th Century French Gustavian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Onyx