Although its name evokes a mountainous region in Germany, antique Black Forest–style furniture originated in Switzerland. In Brienz, during the early 19th century, wood-carver Christian Fischer recognized the market for tourist souvenirs and helped make the village into a wood-carving destination. The Brienz Woodcarving School was founded in 1884 and had its own small zoo for studying the anatomy of animals, depictions of which are a defining aspect of the style, also known as Brienzerware.
Whimsical sculptures, often depicting bears and other Alpine animals like stags, owls, deer and boars, characterize the work produced in the area. Along with folk art and decorative objects, Black Forest furniture included benches held aloft by bears, umbrella stands carved with acorns and clock cases adorned with scrolling oak leaves. While most wood-carvers adhered to a similar realism in their designs and woods like linden, maple and walnut, their aesthetics varied.
The F. Peter Trauffer family was known for their hand-carved bear sculptures that saw the furry mammals playing instruments, smoking pipes and engaging in all sorts of human activities. They were sometimes detailed with glass eyes and integrated into functional pieces of furniture, including chair backs and bench legs, which generations of cabinetmakers created from the 1880s to the 1950s. Walter Mader and his son Heinrich frequently carved Saint Bernard sculptures that they incorporated into furniture.
As the Black Forest furniture style spread around the world through exhibitions at world’s fairs in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the rusticity of these pieces resonated at a time of increasing urbanization, inspiring other artisans.
Find a collection of antique Black Forest cabinets, bedroom furniture, seating and other items on 1stDibs.
Antique Rustic Black Forest Carved Wood Console Table
Located in Forney, TX
An extraordinarily carved Black Forest console table. 19th century, Continental Europe, most likely German, Swiss or possibly French, exhibition quality exceptionally executed mast...
Wood, Oak
19th Century Rustic Black Forest Console Table in Walnut & Marble
Located in Queens, NY
Rustic Black Forest (19th Century) walnut console table with faux twig carved base and slat design apron with marble top and drawer.
Marble
Rustic Black Forest Walnut Center Table
Located in Queens, NY
Rustic Black Forest style (German 19th Century) light walnut rectangular center table with carved leaf & vine design on apron with open cluster legs and tooled brown leather top.
Walnut, Leather
A 19th century balck forest antlers console with marble top.
Located in Wijnegem, BE
A rare 19th century black forest antlers console with marble top. Below head of a hunting dog in terracotta with glass eyes. On top a beautiful black marble.
Antler, Terracotta, Wood
Rustic Country Italian Carved Wood Wall Console Side Table
Located in Carimate, Como
Rustic Tuscany country Italian console side table. Standing on four typically shaped wooden legs with carved classic decors. This console has an extremely light and open aesthetics p...
Wood
Spanish Rustic Carved Wood Console Table , Mid-20th Century
Located in BÉTERA, ES
Impressive Spanish console table dating from the mid-20th century, crafted in wood and combining traditional carved decoration with distinctive wrought iron details. The long rectan...
Iron
19th Century Italian Walnut Console Table
Located in Gloucestershire, GB
19th Century Italian walnut console or side table. This lovely table combines serpentine curves with fine veneers and inlay. The table frame is serpentine on every side except its ...
Walnut
Antique Italian Carved Wood Wall Console Side Table
Located in Carimate, Como
Very elegant and refined Italian antique console side table. Standing on four beautifully carved wooden legs with beveled framed top and central drawer. This console has an extremely...
Wood
$2,825Sale Price|48% Off
H 29.93 in W 57.09 in D 31.5 in
Saverio Jannace & Kovac Rosewood Center or Console Table, 1950
By Saverio Jannace, Alex Kovacs
Located in Rome, IT
Rare rosewood center table designed by Saverio Jannace and produced by Jannace & A. Kovacs , circa 1950 important central foot carved and beveled edge of the table brass detail for a...
Brass
19th Century Provencal Louis XVI Console with Portoro Marble Top
Located in New Orleans, LA
There is a quiet confidence to exceptional French furniture—an elegance that never demands attention, yet invariably becomes the focal point of the room. This remarkable Louis XVI co...
Marble
$14,000
H 29.5 in W 46.25 in D 30.5 in
American Rococo Rosewood & Marble Turtle Top Center Table, Circa 1850
Located in Charleston, SC
American rococo rosewood turtle top center table with carved floral skirt, original marble top, floral carved stretchers and terminating on acanthus carved ...
Marble, Brass
$19,950Sale Price|42% Off
H 31 in W 42 in D 28 in
Fine French 19th Century Louis XV Style Giltwood Carved "Royal" Center Table
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A very fine French 19th century Louis XV style giltwood carved "Royal" center table with a Brêche d'Alep marble top. The serpentine front, back and sides aprons of this finely carved...
Marble
$29,700
H 38.25 in W 62.25 in D 21 in
Antique Neoclassical Mahogany Center Table with Marble Top, Circa 1810
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
An antique Neoclassical Italian center table made of hand crafted shellac polished Mahogany, in good condition. The freestanding console table is composed with a white-grey marble to...
Marble
$16,950Sale Price|50% Off
H 30.75 in W 60 in D 35.25 in
French 19th-20th Century Louis XVI Style Giltwood Carved Center Table Marble
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A fine French 19th-20th century Louis XVI style giltwood carved rectangular center table with marble top. The intricately giltwood carved frame with a pierced floral, acanthus and sc...
Marble
Baroque Spanish Walnut long, narrow Center or Console Table
Located in Troy, NY
Extraordinary long and narrow walnut table, with a massive one-plank top, over a frieze containing four drawers with typical wrought iron pulls, conforming carved decoration on all f...
Wrought Iron
$3,550
H 29.93 in W 57.49 in D 15.75 in
19th Century Chinese Walnut Console Table Antique Rustic Altar Table
Located in IT
A beautifully proportioned 19th century Chinese walnut console table, showcasing the understated elegance and honest craftsmanship of traditional Northern Chinese provincial furnitur...
Walnut
Italian Walnut Center Table
Located in Dallas, TX
19th century Italian carved walnut center table. You're exploring a piece that radiates old-world craftsmanship—19th-century Italian carved walnut center tables are prized for their ...
Walnut
$1,695
H 29 in W 39 in D 29 in
Mid Century French Bronzed Iron & Pink Rose Marble-Top Center Console Table
By André Arbus
Located in Port Jervis, NY
Fabulous textured iron table in a oval form created by French artisans. Sculptured, tapered legs and stretchers were constructed from heavy iron s...
Marble, Iron
$10,000
H 27.56 in W 78.75 in D 27.56 in
Wood and Bronze Center Table by Comte, Argentina, Buenos Aires, circa 1940
Located in Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires
Wood and bronze center table by Comte, Argentina, Buenos Aires, circa 1940.
Bronze
Oak Hunt Console With Carved Game and Grapes, Denmark circa 1860
Located in Round Top, TX
Heavily carved large oak console, can be used as an impressive buffet as well. Note the extensive hand-carving throughout including grapes and wild game. Stamp on back indicative of ...
Oak
Sold
H 25.5 in W 44.25 in D 13.25 in
Black Forest Hand Carved Console Table Marble Top Switzerland circa Late 1800s
Located in Highwood, IL
Black Forest Hand Carved Console Table with a marble top that was made in Switzerland between 1860-1900. This is the only Black Forest Console Table that we have ever seen, which makes it quite rare. The history of Black Forest Furniture began in the 1800s in Brienz, Switzerland and originally the Swiss were carving small animal objects to sell to the tourists. The more popular the Black Forest Carvings began, the larger and more intricate the carvings became. Fortunately, Old Plank had recently discovered a treasure Trove of Black Forest Carved Furniture...
Marble
Sold
H 34 in W 32 in D 18 in
Vintage Lambert Hitchcock Black Harvest Stenciled Console Table Writing Desk
Located in Dayton, OH
"Vintage Lambert Hitchcock Black Forest stenciled Legacy writing desk or console. Made of maple featuring black ebonized finish with gold accents and stenciled arrangement of goards ...
Maple
Sold
H 29.14 in W 46.86 in D 23.82 in
Root Wood 19th Century Swedish Consoles Pair, Masur Birch, Signed and Dated 1890
Located in New York, NY
A fine pair of 19th century root wood consoles from Northern Sweden in Masur Birch. Signed and dated, O.H. / 1890. Exceptionally created with wildly ...
Fruitwood
Ancient piano stool or console, Black Forest style, end of 19th century.
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Ancient piano stool or console, Black Forest style, end of 19th century. Height adjustable.
Walnut
Antique Black Forest Console With Carved Dwarfs
Located in Berghuelen, DE
a wooden carved book shelve with two dwarfs. germany, black forest ca. 1890.
Wood