Aesthetic Movement Furniture
In 1880, polymath designer William Morris declared: “If you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” His words encapsulated the Aesthetic Movement, which prized beauty above all and blurred the lines between fine art and the decorative arts, particularly through lavishly crafted furniture pieces.
The Aesthetic Movement, whose major proponents included author Oscar Wilde, flourished from the 1860s to the 1880s and was mostly popular in England and the United States. Design expositions like the 1876 Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia, as well as the publishing of how-to books for interior design, helped disseminate Aesthetic Movement bedroom furniture, serveware, coffee tables and other items, especially to the middle class.
The establishment of new art museums, art clubs and a rising passion for collecting at the time contributed to a growing appreciation for art. Morris’s founding of Morris & Co. in 1862 and the commercializing of this “cult of beauty” by the Liberty store in London, starting in the late 19th century, further disseminated the idea of a domestic space that was thoughtfully and floridly designed.
Leading Aesthetic Movement furniture designers included E.W. Godwin, who drew on Japanese influences and whose work reflected a wider enthusiasm for imported East Asian art. British designer Christopher Dresser created textiles, ceramics and more that were also inspired by Japanese decorative art but were representative of additional diverse design sources that ranged from Egypt to Mexico.
The Aesthetic Movement’s eclecticism resulted in dazzling interiors. Japanese fans were positioned on Renaissance-inspired cabinets with brass hardware, while mantels made of rich walnut or finely carved ebonized wood and adorned with painted Minton tiles mingled with cast-iron chairs against a backdrop of floral wallpaper. In 1881, in New York City, stenciled checkerboard motifs and painted floral murals could be found under an opalescent glass chandelier in a luxurious dressing room designed by German émigré cabinetmaker-decorator George Alfred Schastey. Amid the rise of the industrial age, the style’s promotion of art in everyday life would inform the Arts and Crafts Movement and Art Nouveau.
Find a collection of antique Aesthetic Movement seating, tables, decorative objects and other furniture and antiques on 1stDibs.
20th Century Italian Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Art Glass
Early 1900s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Porcelain
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Terracotta
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Iron, Tôle
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Ceramic
1880s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Earthenware
1940s Turkish Vintage Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Wool
19th Century European Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Wood
1880s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Silver, Copper
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Earthenware
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Porcelain
2010s Italian Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Ceramic
2010s Italian Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Glass
Late 20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Stone
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Brass, Tin
1890s British Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century Italian Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Metal, Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Murano Glass, Acrylic
Early 20th Century Italian Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Pottery
1870s British Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Porcelain
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Earthenware
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Terracotta
1880s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Silver, Copper
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Terracotta
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Terracotta
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Faux Bamboo
1920s European Vintage Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Brass