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.
1880s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Silver, Copper
Late 18th Century Austrian Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Wood
Late 19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Bronze, Enamel
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Mother-of-Pearl, Oak
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Stoneware
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Stoneware
Late 19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Bronze
19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Earthenware
Late 19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Bronze
1880s Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Beech
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Porcelain
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Wood, Paint
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Stoneware
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Walnut
1940s Italian Vintage Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Upholstery, Oak
Early 20th Century German Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Paper
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Stoneware
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Hardwood
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Porcelain
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Ceramic
Early 2000s British Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Wood, Paper
1970s Italian Vintage Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Brass
Late 19th Century Unknown Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Faience, Porcelain
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Ceramic
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Stoneware
1890s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Porcelain
1990s American Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Paper
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Sterling Silver
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Brass
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Porcelain
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Sterling Silver
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Mahogany, Walnut
Late 19th Century German Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Stoneware
Early 1900s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Crystal, Silver
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Wrought Iron
1870s British Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Wood
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Cane, Walnut
1960s French Vintage Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Belgian Black Marble
20th Century Maghreb Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Palmwood
1850s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Walnut
Early 20th Century European Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Satinwood
19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Bronze
Late 19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Bronze
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Stoneware
1870s British Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Majolica
Late 19th Century European Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Bentwood
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Walnut
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Ceramic
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Earthenware
2010s English Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Stained Glass
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Terracotta
19th Century Spanish Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Oak
2010s Italian Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Silk
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Stoneware
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Terracotta
21st Century and Contemporary French Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Plaster
2010s English Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Velvet
1970s Italian Vintage Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Brass