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.
Custom Framed Antique Swedish Herbariums, Set of 2
Located in Pearland, TX
Beautiful custom framed Swedish antique herbarium floral specimens, collected 1912. Handwritten names in lovely Latin script. Specimens include purple orchid and wild pansy/Johnny Ju...
Wood, Paper
Antique White Painted Wood Wall Brackets - A Pair
Located in New York, NY
Pair of antique decorative wood brackets, hand-painted white. Carved acanthus leaves decorate the front crest, while a floral border decorates the shelf base. The brackets have accru...
Wood
18th Century Swedish Gustavian Pinewood Wall Glass Mirror - Scandinavian Décor
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A late 18th Century, antique Swedish Gustavian wall mirror made of hand crafted Pinewood with its original mirrored glass, in good condit...
Pine
$15,120Sale Price|20% Off
18th - 19th Century Swedish Gustavian Antique Gilded Pine Wall Glass Mirror
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A late 18th Century, antique Swedish Gustavian rectangular wall mirror with its original mirrored glass and blue color paint, made of hand crafted gilded Pinewood, in good condition....
Mirror, Pine, Giltwood
Swedish Gustavian Period 1790s Blue Painted Wall Hanging Corner Cabinet
Located in Atlanta, GA
A Swedish Gustavian period painted wood wall hanging corner cabinet from the late 18th century, with blue paint, single door and weathered appearance. Created in Sweden during the la...
Wood
White-Painted Wood Wall Shelves With Serpentine Brackets - A Pair
Located in New York, NY
Pair of white-painted wall shelves, each with a small, single drawer. Structurally, the shelf has an elegant, bowed front with beveled edges at the top and bottom. The serpentine bra...
Gesso, Wood
A period gustavian wall cabinet with glossed doors scraped to original paint
Located in Atlanta, GA
An authentic Gustavian period wall cabinet from Sweden, late 18th century, retaining its remarkable original surface and timeworn patina. The cabinet features a simple rectangular form with two glazed doors, each framed with wooden mullions that divide the glass into panels, creating a refined balance of proportion and symmetry. The paint has been carefully scraped back to its original layers both inside and out, revealing a soft, warm ochre tone with subtle variations that speak to centuries of age and use. The interior provides practical storage while maintaining the cabinet’s understated neoclassical elegance, typical of the Gustavian era. With its versatile scale, this piece may be mounted on a wall or used as a countertop cabinet...
Glass, Wood
Pair of Architectural Hand-Painted Wall Shelves Brackets
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
Gorgeous Pair of Acanthus Leaf Wall Shelves Hand-Carved and Hand-Painted in a Gustavian shade of gray blue. This set could certainly stand alone as a pair on a wall or functional to ...
Wood, Paint
18th Century Swedish Gustavian Wall Plate Rack
Located in Bozeman, MT
Fantastic and rare 18th century provincial floor standing wall plate rack with shelves from the Gustavian period in its original condition with great patination and color, circa 1790...
Pine
18th Century Swedish Gustavian Pair of Gilded Wood Wall Glass Mirrors
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A gold, antique Swedish Gustavian pair of wall mirrors made of hand crafted gilded wood with its original mirrored glass, in good condition. The Scandinavian wall décor...
Glass, Mirror, Giltwood
Gustavian, 18th Century Plate Rack with Original Rosemåling Painting
Located in New York, NY
Gustavian Swedish 18th century plate rack with original gorgeous rosemåling painting, circa 1800, origin: Northern Sweden.
Wood
C1800s naive Swedish oil painting of a castle & lake scene
Located in London, GB
Charming naive/folk early 1800s Swedish framed oil painting of a castle viewed from across a lake where figures are boating and fishing. The canvas has been laid on board and later f...
Canvas
C19th pair of Swedish Empire flower sketches with giltwood frames
Located in London, GB
A delightful pair of Swedish flower sketches in pencil by fifteen year old Margaret Throne dated 1819. In classic gilt wood frames they are beautifully drawn and observed for someone...
Paper
$900 / set
Swedish Monarchs - Set of 4 Lithographs
Located in Savannah, GA
A set of 4 lithographs depicting the Swedish Monarchs, Erik XIV, Christina, Carl XIII and Oscar I, circa 1900. sight: 6 ½ by 10 ¼ inches frame: 8 ⅜ by 12 inches
Glass, Wood, Paper
$350Sale Price / set|60% Off
H 8.5 in W 11.5 in D 6.5 in
Pair Shell Wall Brackets, Hand Painted Cast Stone, 1980s, Antique
Located in Douglas Manor, NY
3-445 pair hand painted wall brackets /shelves made from cast stone.
Cast Stone
Swedish Gustavian Corner Cabinet in Coral Paint
Located in Kastrup, DK
Gustavian corner cabinet crafted in pine, originally painted in coral colour with a warm and naturally aged patina. The cabinet is constructed in two sections and features a gently ...
Pine
Pair of Fern Wall Brackets
Located in New York, NY
American, circa 1850-1880. Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus), with wire armature and composition ornament, gessoed and gilded. Measures: 14 1/8 in. high, 16 5/16 in. wide (at the sh...
Wood
Set of 6 1940s Dutch Herbarium or Botanicals
Located in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
Set of 6 Dutch framed herbariums dating from the 1940's. They are framed in an A3 frame with A4 mount. These are a sample of what we have to offer. W...
Plastic
German Framed Herbarium
Located in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
Rare 1940s German pressed botanical specimens from a collection in Stuttgart. The specimen is hand-picked and pressed, and each is labelled with the plant's family name, German name,...
Glass, Paper
$475Sale Price / set|51% Off
H 11 in W 9.75 in D 4.75 in
1970s Italian Painted Wood Wall Brackets with Crackle & Gilt Finish
Located in Douglas Manor, NY
1550 Italian pair painted wood wall brackets with crackel and gilt finish
Hardwood
$880Sale Price / set|60% Off
H 16.25 in W 15 in D 5.75 in
Antique French Baroque Style Wall Bracket, a Pair
Located in Plainview, NY
A pair of French Baroque style hand carved gesso and wood floral scroll design wall brackets featuring a scalloped gild painted shelving. This elegant...
Wood, Paint, Gesso
Fine Collection of Custom Framed Vintage Cigar Labels
Located in Bridgeport, CT
A collection of various multi-colored and gilt cigar bands all with portrait heads. Including- Franz Joseph I, and other rulers. Along with a serrated round label with a bust in prof...
Linen, Glass, Wood, Paper
Olive Green Chinoiserie George III Hanging Corner Cupboard
Located in Chireno, TX
Olive green Chinoiserie George III hanging corner cupboard dating to the late 18th century. In excellent condition. Original dark, olive green painted finish embellished with painted...
Brass, Gold Leaf
Pair of Framed Antique Intaglios
Located in East Hampton, NY
Pair of Antique intaglios newly framed on camouflage burlap.
Burlap, Glass, Plaster, Wood
$7,800
H 27.96 in W 12.41 in D 1.19 in
18th Century Gustavian Sconce Mirror with Center Cameo, Sweden, Circa 1780
Located in New York, NY
18th century Swedish Gustavian single arm candle sconce mirror with center cameo, origin: Sweden, circa 1780 In Scandinavia, candlelight is an important element found in any interio...
Giltwood
$12,404
H 83.08 in W 42.92 in D 27.96 in
Late 18th Century Swedish Gustavian Faux Tiled Stove Corner Cabinet
Located in Kastrup, DK
A rare and highly charming Gustavian corner cabinet designed as an imitation faience tiled stove — a distinctive furniture type rooted in late 18th-century Swedish interior tradition...
Pine
Sold
H 30 in W 39 in D 3 in
Antique Henry Dezire French Impressionist Oil Painting Still Life Vase of Flower
Located in LOS ANGELES, CA
Antique Henry Dezire French Impressionist Oil Painting Still Life Vase of Flowers c.1929
Canvas
Pair of Swedish 19th Century Watercolors in Pompeian style.
Located in Stockholm, SE
A pair of Swedish watercolors from the late gustavian or early empire period painted in neoclassical or pompeian style. Period and probably original frames. The watercolors have been...
Paper
Swedish Gustavian Round White Painted Side Table, circa 1910
Located in Round Top, TX
Lovely round Swedish Gustavian side table with carved dentil molding and tapered fluted legs topped by carved floral accents. Newer, professionally applied layered white painted fin...
Wood, Paint
Sold
H 5.91 in W 4.93 in D 0.99 in
Gustavian Plaque of the Swedish King Gustaf III from Late 18th Century
Located in Knivsta, SE
Gustavian Plaque of the Swedish King Gustaf III, from late 18th century. Made in brass and with a mahogany ( Swietenia Mahogoni) frame. Depicts one of the f...
Brass
19th Century Swedish Plate Rack
Located in Allerum, SE
19th century Swedish provincial pine wall plate rack with three drawers in Its original finish with retouches. ca 1820 Sweden.
Pine
"Peace of Mind" by Sam Uhrdin
Located in Wiscasset, ME
Oil on canvas, signed and dated in the lower left and inscribed on the reverse with title Kvallsro, which roughly translated from Swedish means 'Peace of Mind.' The work has a very lovely warm feel to it with the light from the hearth. The painting measures 38.5" x 45.5" including the frame. Sam Uhrdin...
Paint
Sold
H 69 in W 65 in D 20.5 in
Italian Painted Wall Cabinet, Vitrine or Shelving Unit, 19th Century, Gustavian
Located in Manhasset, NY
A 19th/20th Century Italian painted wall cabinet, hanging vitrine or shelving unit. A finely painted wall cabinet or hanging vitrine....
Glass, Wood
Sold
H 26.78 in W 33.86 in D 16.54 in
19th Century Swedish Pale Grey Oak Wall Mounted Console Tables or Brackets
Located in Firenze, IT
This stylish pair of late 19th century swedish pale grey oak wall mounted console tables with a chic grayish lacquer hand painted finish feature an architectural and geometrical shap...
Wood, Oak
Sold
H 24.75 in W 13.25 in D 1.25 in
19th Century Swedish Gustavian Gilded Pine Wall Glass Mirror by JP Larsson
By JP Larsson
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A gold, antique Swedish Gustavian wall mirror made of hand carved gilded Pinewood with its original mirrored glass, in good condition. Th...
Mirror, Wood, Giltwood, Pine
Gustavian Style Carved White Painted Laurel Swags
Located in Essex, MA
A unique pair of architectural wall ornaments in the Swedish Gustavian style. Grey/ white-painted and hand-carved laurel swags of significa...
Wood
Sold
H 61 in W 24 in D 2.5 in
19th Century Swedish Gustavian Gilded Wood Wall Glass Mirror, Scandinavian Décor
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A gold, antique large late Swedish Gustavian wall mirror with a gilded frame and original glass, enhanced by detailed wood carvings with ...
Mirror, Wood, Giltwood
Incredible Wall Ribbon Carved Wall Sculpture
Located in Hopewell, NJ
A fabulously unusual found object sculpture, impressive in scale, having the shape of a rippled ribbon carved out of greyish brown natural finish wood. L...
Wood