Classical Greek Furniture
There is rare surviving furniture from ancient Greece, yet this classical style has informed design for centuries. Interiors of houses in antiquity were minimal, with much of a room’s color coming from frescoes on the walls and mosaics on the floors. Classical Greek furniture was sparing but finely crafted and influenced by Egyptian furniture design through Mediterranean trade.
Furnishings of the period were usually made from local wood like cypress, cedar, oak and willow from ancient Greece’s plentiful forests, although some pieces were carved from marble, such as a 300–200 B.C. throne with lion legs and a curved back now at the Getty Villa. Comfort and clean lines characterized designs during the Classical era, the symmetry and thoughtful proportions reflecting the architecture of Greek temples.
Some pieces of ancient Greek furniture were simple, rectangular platforms like the klinē, a multipurpose ancestor of today’s couches or daybeds that held cushions stuffed with wool, dry grass or down. These structures were used for both sleeping and dining, which wealthy Greeks did while reclining. At night, oil lamps illuminated rooms that frequently surrounded a garden courtyard.
Most of what scholars have learned about Greek furniture design owes to its representations in art like vases and stelae. The portable diphros stool, with its backless design and four turned legs, was one of the more common types of seating in daily Greek life — it appears as such for the gods on the Parthenon frieze. Stools without backs have been found in early Roman tombs, while benches were also common Greek seating furniture created for use in theaters. In houses of the Hellenistic period, benches seemingly functioned as tables, too.
Some designs evolved through adaptations by the Romans, including the klismos chair. After prominent archaeological excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum, the klismos chair — with its four saber legs and the elegant curves that define its back — was a source of inspiration for aesthetics in eras ranging from 18th-century neoclassicism to 20th-century Art Deco.
Find a collection of Classical Greek decorative objects, wall decorations and building and garden elements on 1stDibs.
19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Bronze
Late 19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Bronze
Mid-20th Century Italian Classical Greek Furniture
Ceramic
Late 19th Century English Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Composition
1920s French Vintage Classical Greek Furniture
Marble, Spelter
Early 20th Century Classical Greek Furniture
Marble
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Marble
20th Century Classical Greek Furniture
Plaster
1960s Italian Vintage Classical Greek Furniture
Glass
18th Century English Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Leather, Paper
Early 20th Century Classical Greek Furniture
Wood
1890s German Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Porcelain
19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Bronze
1890s Austrian Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Porcelain
19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Bronze
1950s English Vintage Classical Greek Furniture
Plaster
Early 20th Century Greek Classical Greek Furniture
Terracotta
Early 20th Century Italian Classical Greek Furniture
Alabaster
Late 19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Ormolu
19th Century Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Iron
Late 19th Century American Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Terracotta
19th Century English Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Bronze
1980s North American Vintage Classical Greek Furniture
Cast Stone, Concrete
19th Century German Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Porcelain
19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Bronze
Early 19th Century English Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Enamel
19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Bronze
Early 19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Ormolu
19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Bronze
Late 19th Century English Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Ormolu
19th Century Greek Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Classical Greek Furniture
Ceramic, Earthenware
19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Terracotta, Oak
1950s American Vintage Classical Greek Furniture
Iron
1940s American Vintage Classical Greek Furniture
Glass, Wood
Mid-20th Century Italian Classical Greek Furniture
Wood
15th Century and Earlier Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Glass
Late 19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Bronze
1910s American Vintage Classical Greek Furniture
Bronze
15th Century and Earlier Greek Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Bronze
1960s American Vintage Classical Greek Furniture
Aluminum
Late 19th Century English Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Classical Greek Furniture
Paper
Late 19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Copper
19th Century European Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Onyx, Bronze
20th Century English Classical Greek Furniture
Marble
20th Century English Classical Greek Furniture
Marble
Early 20th Century German Classical Greek Furniture
Bronze
19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Ormolu
Mid-19th Century European Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Paper
19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Iron
1960s Unknown Vintage Classical Greek Furniture
Stone, Metal
1970s Vintage Classical Greek Furniture
Plaster
2010s Afghan Classical Greek Furniture
Wool
Mid-20th Century Spanish Classical Greek Furniture
Stone
Mid-20th Century French Classical Greek Furniture
Bronze
1870s American Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Bronze
Late 19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Lapis Lazuli, Bronze, Enamel