Folk art is a genre of art that shares the creator’s traditions, offering not just an artistic display but an opportunity to learn about a culture. Antique, new and vintage folk art typically reflects a heritage or location. It can include utilitarian objects and handmade art as diverse as weather vanes, duck decoys, portraiture and paintings, carnival art and quilts.
Quilts are a quintessential part of American folk art but their roots are international, with quilting dating back to Ancient Egypt. The practice spread to Europe and was especially prominent in the Middle Ages, with one of the oldest surviving examples being the Tristan quilt made in Sicily in the 14th century. They were made as bedcovers and clothing, including as a layer for knights to wear beneath their armor. Native American folk art includes functional objects reflecting their heritage, such as baskets, textiles and wooden pieces.
Elsewhere, the vast range of work associated with Mexican folk art includes masks made by Mexican craftspeople for traditional celebrations and ceremonial dances. Mexican masks are part of the country’s folk-art traditions that go back thousands of years and play a role in festivals and theater.
Works in the folk art tradition are valuable because of the skills involved, like weaving, hand-carving wood and even stonework. Many folk artists are self-taught, while some train as apprentices within their community. By using available materials and taking a personal approach to their creations, artists ensure each piece is unique and conveys a story.
During the Great Depression, artistic materials in America were hard to come by, so artisans used discarded wood from cigar boxes and shipping crates to make highly stylized, notched pieces — most often picture frames and boxes — that are today sought after by collectors. This folk art style is called tramp art and was popular from roughly 1870 until the 1940s.
Folk art brings vibrant culture and traditions into your home. Browse an extensive collection of antique, new and vintage folk art on 1stDibs.
$1,448 / set
Pair of French Wrought Iron Martini Tables
Located in London, GB
Wrought iron martini tables, hand made in England inspired by an original 1940s French design. Finished with a natural bronze patina as sta...
Iron
Table Folk Vernacular Small Side Low Elm Baroque Height 19" Length 22 .5"
Located in BUNGAY, SUFFOLK
- Rare small size, perfect height for sofa's and modern armchairs - The single plank elm top with beautiful figuring and stick legs are characteristic of folk and vernacular furnitur...
Elm
Antique Swedish Folk Art 'Hedna Table'
Located in Kramfors, SE
Very unusual primitive folk art table with the authentic patina after over 3 centuries of use. The table is an early example of the so called Hedna Table w...
Birch, Pine
Pair of Guy Lefevre For Maison Jansen Sofa Table
By Guy Lefevre
Located in Miami, FL
Superb pair of sofa tables by Guy Lefevre for Maison Jansen Repolished and refinished.
Brass
$1,200
H 12.64 in W 28.15 in D 37.29 in
Japanese antique wooden sofa table/Late 19th century/Wabi-sabi low table
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
This is a board and a wooden box that were used in Japan from the Meiji period to the early Showa period. These two can be combined to make a low table. The tabletop is made of eithe...
Cedar
Small Drinks Table / Side Table / Martini Table in Wrought Iron
Located in Barcelona, ES
Spanish Side Table, Wrought Iron Small Spanish Gilt Iron Drinks Table Gueridon, End or Side Table. Manufactured in Spain, 1940s. This pedestal table has a wavy edged top heavily decored by the Hammer work. It stands on a tripod base with scroll ended feet and a beatiful twisting decorative detail at the central part of the stem. Terrific aged patina with rusty accents. Its eclectic design mixing Gothic and Brutalist accents marks the difference. Use it as small side table, candle stand, cocktails table, smokers table or occasional table for parties around the sofa and display it with other Martini tables in different sizes to create a set. Measures: 45 cm H x 27,7 cm W x 25 cm D Diameter of the top: 20,5 cm We have other drinks tables in this style in case that you need a pair or a set. Spanish Wrought Iron Table...
Iron, Wrought Iron
Side Table in the Manner of Axel Einar Hjorth Produced in Sweden
Located in Limhamn, Skåne län
Rare side table in the manner of Axel Einar Hjorth. Produced in Sweden.
Leather, Pine
19th Century French Mahogany Tripod Round Small Side Table
Located in Sofia, BG
Fine mahogany side table with round top resting on tripod hand carved leg. Very good condition with no restorations. France, circa 1860.
Mahogany
Pair of Martini Side Table in Wrought Iron, Art Deco style, in stock
Located in Miami, FL
Pair of Martini Side Table in Wrought Iron, Art Deco style, in stock Hammered and forged iron Hand Made in France Warm black patina that gives it a timeless aesthetic. Available indi...
Wrought Iron
$3,375
H 18.71 in W 17.72 in D 25.4 in
Art Deco / Bauhaus Side Table, Black Lacquer, Chromed, Austria, circa 1920
Located in Regensburg, DE
Wonderful, rare and high-qulaity restored side table / former luggage table. The table was used as a luggage table in the 1920/30s with steel trims at the top for placing a suitcase...
Metal
$2,622Sale Price / set|25% Off
H 17.72 in W 23.63 in D 23.63 in
Pair of Mid-Century Italian Brass, Chrome and Glass Top Side Tables
Located in Vilnius, LT
This pair of mid-century Italian side tables made of brass and chrome frame with transparent glass. Heavy and solid, very good condition.
Brass, Chrome
$2,712Sale Price|23% Off
H 26.38 in W 32.49 in D 22.05 in
Antique 19th-Century Biedermeier Cherry Salon Table
Located in Darmstadt, DE
This beautiful salon table before us is a true masterpiece. It hails from the Biedermeier period around 1830 in Germany and is crafted from solid cherry wood. This type of wood is no...
Spruce, Cherry
$2,500
H 11.42 in W 43.9 in D 31.5 in
Japanese Antique Low Table 1900s-1940s / Primitive Side Table Wabisabi
Located in Chōsei District Nagara, JP
This is an old Japanese primitive-style low table. It is a piece of furniture that was actually used during the early Shōwa period (1900s–1940s) and was discovered in a traditional f...
Cedar
$4,340 / set
H 17.33 in W 26.38 in D 14.18 in
Silver Gold Modern Vintage Pair of Side Table Stainless Steel Brass, 2000, Italy
Located in Vienna, AT
Modern pair of silver and gold vintage side tables or sofa tables made of stainless steel and brass which were designed and made out in the yea...
Brass, Stainless Steel
Swedish Side Table in Pine attributed to Bo Fjæstad, 1930s
Located in Karlstad, SE
Beautiful side table by Bo Fjæstad, Sweden. This studio craft table is a great example of the pine furniture made for cabins that was produced during the early modernist era in Swede...
Pine
Charming Late 19th Century Folk Art Wooden Table
Located in Allerum, SE
Charming late 19th Century Folk Art raw wooden table with an edge, ca 1890.
Pine
Sold
H 10.24 in W 72.45 in D 23.63 in
Wooden Teak Primitive Naga Coffee Table Bench in a Wabi Sabi Style, India
Located in Stockholm, SE
Rare wooden "Naga" coffee table or bench in solid teak produced in India around 30-40 years ago. Fits great into a wabi-sabi style. In good vintage condition with some signs from age...
Teak
Sold
H 14.57 in W 74.02 in D 19.69 in
Wooden Teak Primitive Naga Coffee Table or Bench in a Wabi Sabi Style, India
Located in Stockholm, SE
Rare wooden "Naga" coffee table or bench in solid teak produced in India around 30-40 years ago. Fits great into a wabi-sabi style. In good vintage condition with some signs from age...
Teak
Swedish Wabi Sabi Wooden Bench in Pine From the Early 1900s
Located in Stockholm, SE
Rare Swedish wooden bench in a primitive and wabi sabi style produced in solid pine from the late 1800s / early 1900s. In good vintage condition w...
Pine
Sold
H 15.36 in W 53.15 in L 15.36 in
Studio Furniture American Craft Coffee Table in the Style of Wendell Castle USA
Located in Antwerp, BE
Mid-Century Modern, Studio furniture, American Craft, coffee table, koa wenga woods, USA 1960s Wendell Castle, Roger Sloan, JB Blunk, Jawar, Richard Bronk, Gerald McCabe, Bobby Falwell, David Scott, Charles Fischer, Howard Osinski...
Walnut
Swedish 19th Century Folk Art Sofa Table with Old Scraped Patina
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
A Swedish antique cocktail table in painted old patina from mid-19th century. This original piece of Scandinavian Folk Art has being carefully ...
Pine
19th Century Folk Art Compact Living Chair and Table
Located in Kramfors, SE
Folk Art combined table and chair from Hälsingland, Sweden. A multi functional piece and an early example of compact living. When folded out it works splendid as a small table. When ...
Pine
Driftwood Table
Located in Chireno, TX
Driftwood table constructed with a graceful, natural-shaped trestle base supporting a rectangular top of naturally weathered antique planks.
Wood, Driftwood
Early 19th Century Miniature Children's Oak Desk
Located in Copenhagen, K
Early 19th century childrens desk in oak. Could be used as sofa table.
Oak
19th Century Swedish Folk Art Table
Located in Allerum, SE
Good early 19th century two-plank Provincial / Folk Art table that has aged very well, Sweden, circa 1820. These table's where made from early 17th-late 19th century and was most...
Wood