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 English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Beech
1960s Italian Vintage Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Brass
Late 19th Century Czech Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Blown Glass
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Walnut, Paper
1880s Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Glass
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Marble
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Oak
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Softwood
21st Century and Contemporary Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Tin
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Brass
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Mahogany
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Silver Plate
Early 20th Century English Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Twig, Smoked Glass
Early 2000s European Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Gold
Mid-20th Century Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Crystal
1880s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Bronze
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Iron
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Porcelain
1910s Dutch Vintage Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Ceramic
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Oak, Paint
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Oak
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Walnut
Early 20th Century European Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Ormolu
19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Silver
19th Century European Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Oak
Early 20th Century European Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Stained Glass, Wood
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Brass
Mid-19th Century German Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Canvas
1890s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Oak
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Walnut
Early 20th Century French Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Canvas
Mid-20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Silver
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Walnut
Late 19th Century Danish Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Ebony
1890s European Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Ceramic
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Mahogany
1880s Scottish Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Iron
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Iron
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Pottery
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Porcelain
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Oak
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Iron
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Brass
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Walnut
Early 20th Century Italian Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Art Glass
1880s British Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Porcelain
Late 19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Early 2000s British Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Paper
Late 19th Century Great Britain (UK) Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Iron
20th Century Jordanian Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Wool
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Walnut
1890s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Brass
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Oak
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Oak, Walnut
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Walnut
Early 20th Century French Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Fruitwood
1870s British Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Porcelain
Late 19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Oak