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.
15th Century and Earlier Italian Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Terracotta
1920s American Vintage Classical Greek Furniture
Terracotta
20th Century Greek Classical Greek Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Classical Greek Furniture
Statuary Marble
2010s North American Classical Greek Furniture
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Classical Greek Furniture
Statuary Marble
1880s Greek Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Brass
Mid-19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Bronze
1950s Italian Vintage Classical Greek Furniture
Alabaster, Brass
18th Century European Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Paper, Crayon
1950s American Vintage Classical Greek Furniture
Alabaster, Brass, Bronze
Early 20th Century German Classical Greek Furniture
Porcelain
20th Century Unknown Classical Greek Furniture
Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Classical Greek Furniture
Statuary Marble, Metal
Mid-20th Century Classical Greek Furniture
Ormolu
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Classical Greek Furniture
Statuary Marble
Late 19th Century American Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Carrara Marble
Late 20th Century Swedish Classical Greek Furniture
Wood
15th Century and Earlier Greek Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Terracotta
19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Bronze
Mid-19th Century Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Ormolu
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Classical Greek Furniture
Statuary Marble, Metal
1970s Greek Vintage Classical Greek Furniture
Cast Stone
1930s Swedish Vintage Classical Greek Furniture
Bronze
Late 20th Century American Classical Greek Furniture
Silver Plate
2010s Turkish Classical Greek Furniture
Statuary Marble
1980s Spanish Vintage Classical Greek Furniture
Paper
20th Century American Classical Greek Furniture
Cast Stone
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Classical Greek Furniture
Statuary Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Classical Greek Furniture
Marble
Late 18th Century European Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Paper, Glass
Late 18th Century European Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Paper, Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Classical Greek Furniture
Iron
Mid-20th Century Classical Greek Furniture
Stone
2010s Turkish Classical Greek Furniture
Statuary Marble
Late 18th Century European Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Glass, Paper
20th Century Italian Classical Greek Furniture
Terracotta
Late 19th Century Austrian Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Porcelain
Late 17th Century European Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Glass, Paper
2010s Turkish Classical Greek Furniture
Statuary Marble
1950s Italian Vintage Classical Greek Furniture
Alabaster, Brass
1950s American Vintage Classical Greek Furniture
Bronze
1950s Italian Vintage Classical Greek Furniture
Alabaster, Brass
1850s Italian Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Ceramic
1890s Italian Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Classical Greek Furniture
Statuary Marble
1940s Unknown Vintage Classical Greek Furniture
Stone
1950s American Vintage Classical Greek Furniture
Concrete
2010s Turkish Classical Greek Furniture
Statuary Marble
Early 20th Century French Classical Greek Furniture
Bronze
20th Century English Classical Greek Furniture
Metal, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Classical Greek Furniture
Marble
19th Century French Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Marble, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Classical Greek Furniture
Statuary Marble
1980s American Vintage Classical Greek Furniture
Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Classical Greek Furniture
Marble
19th Century Antique Classical Greek Furniture
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Classical Greek Furniture
Statuary Marble