Skip to main content

Gustavian Tables

GUSTAVIAN STYLE

With clean lines and muted colors, antique Gustavian furniture is understated and elegant. It represents a more restrained version of the transition from Rococo to neoclassicism that was happening in France under Louis XVI. The style developed under Swedish King Gustav III, who reigned from 1771 until his assassination in 1792, and his son Gustav IV, who ruled until 1809. Although Gustavian furniture is mostly used to refer to pale painted cabinets, commodes, armchairs and other items, it involved a range of influences.

Gustavian-style furniture was inspired by discoveries at Pompeii and Herculaneum as well as the grandeur of European palaces like Versailles, with local softwoods such as pine and birch. There was also an emphasis on natural light; crystal chandeliers and large mirrors played a role in radiating the fleeting daylight of winter, giving it a distinctive aesthetic.

Where earlier furniture was curvy and florid, this new era was more architectural, with tapered and fluted legs and rectangular and oval shapes. Luminous gilt contrasted with the palette of soft blues on upholstery and painted surfaces. Leading furniture builders included Gottlieb Iwersson, Louis Masreliez and Erik Öhrmark. The latter, a French-born Swedish decorator, designed the Sulla chair, a seat that was demonstrative of technical skill and precise craftsmanship and drew on Greek klismos chairs. Masreliez’s Sulla chair was made by Öhrmark and featured decorative ornamentation produced by Jean-Baptiste Masreliez, Louis’s younger brother.

While the wealthy had furniture carved with neoclassical details like scallops and rosettes, more affordable options were adorned with faux finishes that mimicked marble and stenciled patterns. The simple elegance of Gustavian furniture would have a long impact on Swedish design, informing the 20th-century appreciation for function and form. In the 1950s, IKEA mass-produced copies of a Gustavian commode designed by cabinetmaker Georg Haupt, who created pieces for the Royal Palace, making the furniture a fixture of everyday Swedish life.

Find a collection of antique Gustavian seating, tables, decorative objects and other furniture on 1stDibs.

to
31
Height
to
Width
to
Depth
to
207
114
308
7
7
26,297
19,222
4,949
3,565
1,864
1,797
1,766
1,738
1,671
1,606
1,389
955
893
849
632
553
325
137
41
200
67
14
26
26
3
3
4
1
7
8
7
2
1
319
151
151
62
36
309
289
278
7
7
322
319
319
2
1
1
1
1
Style: Gustavian
Gustavian Tray Table
Located in Ljungby, SE
A Gustavian tray table from southern Sweden with a carved wooden monogram on both sides of the apron. The table is freestanding. It features carved decorative details, such as flutin...
Category

18th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Tables

Materials

Wood

Louis XVI Style Console or Card Table
Located in Sheffield, MA
Set against a wall as a console or lamp table, the top unfolds and the back legs slide to fully support the unfolded half of a square card table, sea...
Category

Late 19th Century European Antique Gustavian Tables

Materials

Mahogany

Swedish Late Gustavian Period Small Console W/Marble in Unique Colors
Located in Atlanta, GA
A Swedish late Gustavian petite console table, with stunning marble top and secondary platform shelf, from the late 18th to early 19th century. This smaller-sized antique table from Sweden has a particularly beautiful marble top, rectangular in shape, in a goldenrod color. The marble top rests upon an apron with scrolling foliate motif carved about three sides and framed within petite bead trim. Each corner is embellished with a large carved sunflower head just above the legs. The table is presented upon four round and fluted legs, with profiled knees, which taper gently towards their feet. A lower display platform (with a green faux marble hand-painted finish) shelf is positioned at underside of the table, braced just above the feet. Note that the table height varies as it is 31" at back and 30.5" towards the front. This late Gustavian period Swedish marble-top table, with smaller footprint of (approximately) 2.5 foot width, would make for a fabulous little entry table, an accent table for a hall/stair landing...
Category

Early 19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Tables

Materials

Marble

Antique Italianate Neoclassical Paint Decorated Center Table
Located in Bridgeport, CT
The large round tabletop painted in a mottled red-brown faux marble finish with a bull nose edge. Raised on a classical carved solid tripod base with faux marble painted panels and e...
Category

Early 19th Century European Antique Gustavian Tables

Materials

Wood

1900s Scandinavian Wooden Table
Located in High Point, NC
A wooden table from Scandinavia, produced circa 1900. A graceful side table featuring a sliding drawer with original lock and key. Looking like it sprang from a Hans Christen Anderse...
Category

Early 1900s Scandinavian Antique Gustavian Tables

Materials

Wood

Very Decorative Early 19th Century Gustavian Swedish Console Table with Lyre
Located in Worpswede / Bremen, DE
An elegant Gustavian giltwood console table from the early 19th century. The console with inset white marbleized wooden top above a lyre-shaped support and white and faux porphyry pa...
Category

Early 19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Tables

Materials

Wood

Swedish Drop-Leaf Dining Table in Early Ocher Paint
Located in Houston, TX
Swedish drop-leaf dining table in early ocher paint. Circa 1820-1840. Good condition. Stable, sturdy and level. All legs, stretchers, top and base are original. The majority of paint...
Category

1830s Swedish Antique Gustavian Tables

Materials

Steel

Edmund Jorgensen Deco Walnut & Glass Coffee Table
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Walnut veneer. Glass top with frosted design, depicting woodland scene. Brass capped feet. Danish, circa 1930's.Dimensions: H 22" x W 38.5" x D 24.5".Condition: Few scuffs and rubs t...
Category

1930s Danish Vintage Gustavian Tables

Materials

Glass, Walnut

19th Century Gustavian Carved and Painted Occasional Table
Located in Dallas, TX
Very fine 19th century Gustavian carved occasional table. Featuring a beautifully carved base and claw feet. Makes an elegant statement!
Category

19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Tables

Materials

Wood

18th Century Gustavian Table
Located in Ljungby, SE
A Gustavian mahogany-veneered table attributed to Carl Diedric Fick (master in Stockholm 1776–1806). The table stands on straight, tapering legs capped in brass. It features three dr...
Category

Late 18th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Tables

Materials

Wood, Mahogany

Desk Swedish 18th Century Green Original Paint Sweden
Located in New York, NY
Desk Swedish 18th Century Green Original Paint Sweden. A writing desk Swedish made during the 18th century in Sweden. Original paint in dark green. Interior with shelving, drawers an...
Category

Late 18th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Tables

Materials

Bentwood

Original Painted Console, Sweden circa 1800-20
Located in Round Top, TX
This impressive console will make a grand statement in any home. The uniquely shaped wood base was hand-painted; one can still see the faux marble design that was a traditional style...
Category

Early 19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Tables

Materials

Oak, Paint

Table Console Rare Quality Swedish Early Gustavian Gilded, 18th Century, Sweden
Located in New York, NY
Table console rare quality Swedish early Gustavian gilded 18th century Sweden. A console table made during the Gustavian period in Sweden 1775-1790. Original gilding and white marble top. Decorated with laurel swags and channeled legs. Frieze edged with a pearl beading and a circular plaster decor...
Category

Late 18th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Tables

Materials

Marble

Pair of Gustavian White and Parcel Gilt Torcheres
Located in New York, NY
Each with round gilt-edged platform supported on three square legs with guilloche decoration, headed by lion's masks and terminating in paw feet; on a tripartite spreading base with ...
Category

Early 1800s Swedish Antique Gustavian Tables

Materials

Wood

Late Gustavian Table from Stockholm ca 1790
Located in Ljungby, SE
High-class Stockholm piece from around 1790. Crafted in veneered and partially solid mahogany with carved wooden decorations of corner florets. The core material is pine and alder. T...
Category

1790s Swedish Antique Gustavian Tables

Materials

Brass, Other

Writing Desk In Gustavian Style Painted In Grey From 1840s
Located in Lejre, DK
Grey painted writing desk in the style Gustavian from the 1840s. The desk is freestanding and stamped with "Nordisk Films Kompagni". H - 128 cm, W - 62 cm and D - 62 cm.
Category

1840s Danish Antique Gustavian Tables

Materials

Wood

20th Century Gustavian Side Console Table
Located in New York, NY
Gold gilded Gustavian styled table with intricate carvings around the frame and legs with a green marble top resting upon the frame. Marked by a ...
Category

1910s European Vintage Gustavian Tables

Materials

Marble

Pair of 19th Century Swedish Late Gustavian Demilune Tables with Leaf
Located in Huntington, NY
A pair of Swedish Gustavian demilune tables featuring decorative hand carved Guilloché scrolling. Rosettes sit atop hand carved tapered legs. This piece has been tastefully hand pain...
Category

Early 19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Tables

Materials

Wood, Paint

Pair of 19th Century Swedish Gustavian Style Demilune Tables
Located in Huntington, NY
A pair of Swedish Gustavian style demilune tables featuring decorative hand carved Guilloché scrolling. Rosettes sit atop hand carved tapered legs. This piece has been tastefully han...
Category

Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Tables

Materials

Wood, Paint

Antique Rustic Swedish Farm House Table With Chalk Blue Patina Circa 1860
Located in London, Park Royal
An antique Swedish farm house table, Circa 1860. Hand made in solid, European pine, wood. It has a naturally, age-textured, blond -wood top on an elegant cross frame which has a love...
Category

19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Tables

Materials

Pine

1780s Exceptional Gustavian Original Painted Center Table, Stockholm
Located in Aalsgaarde, DK
An exceptional 1780s-1790s original painted Gustavian center table, richly carved, probably made in Stockholm. It's in a stunning original red color and faux painted marble top.
Category

Mid-18th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Tables

Swedish Gustavian White Painted Drop Leaf Antique Dining Table
Located in Shippensburg, PA
A VERY GOOD GUSTAVIAN DROP-LEAF DINING TABLE IN EARLY WHITE PAINT Sweden, circa 1st half of the 19th century 29 1/2" H x 22 1/8" D x 78 1/4" W (opened) This very attractive origin...
Category

19th Century Swedish Antique Gustavian Tables

Materials

Wood, Paint

Gustavian tables for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Gustavian tables for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage tables created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include tables, case pieces and storage cabinets, folk art and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with wood, pine and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Gustavian tables made in a specific country, there are Europe, Scandinavia, and Sweden pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original tables, popular names associated with this style include Jonas Frisk, Svenska Möbler, Dos Gallos Studio, and Ira Yeager. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for tables differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $599 and tops out at $49,000 while the average work can sell for $4,050.

Recently Viewed

View All