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.
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Wool
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Silver Plate
Early 20th Century Caucasian Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Wool
Late 19th Century North American Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Iron
20th Century German Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Crystal
Early 20th Century English Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Brass
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Earthenware
1980s Mexican Vintage Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Marble, Bronze
Mid-20th Century Persian Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Wool
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Ceramic
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Crystal
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Porcelain
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Walnut
19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Pottery
Early 20th Century English Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Silver Plate
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Earthenware
1880s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Copper, Iron
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Stoneware
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Brass
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Earthenware
Mid-19th Century Japanese Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Porcelain
1910s European Vintage Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Bamboo, Lacquer
1890s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Sterling Silver
1930s Vintage Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Oak
1960s French Vintage Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Brass
Late 19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Earthenware
21st Century and Contemporary American Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Turkish Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Wool
1940s American Vintage Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Cane, Wood
Early 20th Century French Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Ceramic, Paint
Early 20th Century Finnish Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Wool
Late 19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Bronze
Early 1900s German Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Ceramic
19th Century European Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Ebony, Walnut
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Wool
Mid-20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Silver
Early 20th Century Persian Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Wool
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Oak
Early 20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Wool
Early 20th Century French Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Metal
2010s English Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Velvet
1870s Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Oak
1880s British Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Walnut
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Ceramic, Terracotta
Late 19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Walnut
20th Century Russian Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Lacquer
Early 20th Century Persian Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Wool
Early 20th Century British Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Porcelain
20th Century British Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Oak
1860s Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Oak
1890s British Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Bamboo, Lacquer
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Brass
Late 20th Century Chinese Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Upholstery, Bamboo
Early 20th Century Persian Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Wool
Early 1900s German Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Ceramic
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Elm, Oak
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Stoneware
Late 20th Century Mexican Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Wool
Early 2000s British Aesthetic Movement Furniture
Paper