Aesthetic Movement Tables
In 1880, polymath designer William Morris declared: “If you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” His words encapsulated the Aesthetic Movement, which prized beauty above all and blurred the lines between fine art and the decorative arts, particularly through lavishly crafted furniture pieces.
The Aesthetic Movement, whose major proponents included author Oscar Wilde, flourished from the 1860s to the 1880s and was mostly popular in England and the United States. Design expositions like the 1876 Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia, as well as the publishing of how-to books for interior design, helped disseminate Aesthetic Movement bedroom furniture, serveware, coffee tables and other items, especially to the middle class.
The establishment of new art museums, art clubs and a rising passion for collecting at the time contributed to a growing appreciation for art. Morris’s founding of Morris & Co. in 1862 and the commercializing of this “cult of beauty” by the Liberty store in London, starting in the late 19th century, further disseminated the idea of a domestic space that was thoughtfully and floridly designed.
Leading Aesthetic Movement furniture designers included E.W. Godwin, who drew on Japanese influences and whose work reflected a wider enthusiasm for imported East Asian art. British designer Christopher Dresser created textiles, ceramics and more that were also inspired by Japanese decorative art but were representative of additional diverse design sources that ranged from Egypt to Mexico.
The Aesthetic Movement’s eclecticism resulted in dazzling interiors. Japanese fans were positioned on Renaissance-inspired cabinets with brass hardware, while mantels made of rich walnut or finely carved ebonized wood and adorned with painted Minton tiles mingled with cast-iron chairs against a backdrop of floral wallpaper. In 1881, in New York City, stenciled checkerboard motifs and painted floral murals could be found under an opalescent glass chandelier in a luxurious dressing room designed by German émigré cabinetmaker-decorator George Alfred Schastey. Amid the rise of the industrial age, the style’s promotion of art in everyday life would inform the Arts and Crafts Movement and Art Nouveau.
Find a collection of antique Aesthetic Movement seating, tables, decorative objects and other furniture and antiques on 1stDibs.
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Oak
20th Century Unknown Aesthetic Movement Tables
Bamboo
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Brass
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut
1870s British Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Oak
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Beech, Ebony
Late 19th Century Syrian Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Fruitwood
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Ceramic, Pottery, Bamboo, Wood
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Bamboo, Wood, Lacquer, Paint
1860s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Marble
1880s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Mahogany, Satinwood
1880s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Oak
Late 20th Century Aesthetic Movement Tables
Iron
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Baize, Mahogany
1870s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Brass, Pewter
Mid-19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Marble
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Wood
1880s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut
Early 20th Century Chinese Aesthetic Movement Tables
Wood
19th Century American Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Granite
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Sycamore
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Rosewood
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Wood
Early 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Giltwood
Early 19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Wood, Walnut
1960s French Vintage Aesthetic Movement Tables
Rosewood
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Ash
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Silk, Bamboo, Mirror, Lacquer
Early 20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Tables
Ceramic, Oak
Early 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Rosewood
1860s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Aesthetic Movement Tables
Oak
Mid-20th Century European Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Bamboo, Wood, Lacquer, Paint
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Sycamore
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut
Early 20th Century English Aesthetic Movement Tables
Bamboo, Paint
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Wood
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Enamel
1890s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Oak
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Oak
1920s American Vintage Aesthetic Movement Tables
Marble, Bronze, Iron
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Leather, Bamboo, Wood
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut, Amboyna
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Metal