Louis Xv Porcelain Dishes

The style of 18th-century French furniture was guided by the court. When Louis XV, who reigned from 1715–74, focused royal life on the smaller salons of Versailles rather than its grand chambers, it transformed the aesthetics away from the imposing and angular furniture that characterized the style of Louis XIV. A broader focus on comfort and more delicate forms define antique Louis XV furniture, with nature-inspired carvings, wood inlays, curved cabriole legs, asymmetrical shapes and rounded oval seat backs. The furnishings changed throughout the king’s life, as he ascended to the throne as a child and then grew to establish his own tastes.

Pieces like the bergère, an upholstered armchair with a wide cushion that fit the flowing dresses in fashion at the time, reflected this more informal court. Introduced at the start of Louis XV’s reign, bergère chairs in this style were deeper and broader than other chairs of the period.

Louis XV tapestries and carpets tended to be floral and colorful, and design elements were borrowed from Asia. Dutch-born cabinetmaker Bernard van Risenburgh brought lacquer techniques influenced by Japan and China into his luxuriously made furniture. Along with its fine details, the furniture of the era also featured new innovations including mechanical devices. Jean François Oeben, a royal cabinetmaker, created such intricate pieces as a mechanical table for Madame de Pompadour, Louis XV’s mistress. It involved a sliding top and a writing surface that extended from its marquetry panels.

During the later years of Louis XV’s reign, there was a shift from the ostentatious rocaille style, part of the exuberantly decorative Rococo movement in Europe for which designers such as Nicolas Pineau and Juste-Aurèle Meissonier are known. The style under Louis XVI would return to boxier forms, but with a neoclassical touch inspired by the ancient world.

Find antique Louis XV bedroom furniture, seating, tables and decorative objects on 1stDibs.

As decorative objects in your space, antique, new and vintage bowls and baskets make for a versatile addition to any corner of your living room, dining room or the console table in your foyer or entryway. Whether they’re positioned as a focal point for the family dining table or an accent on the shelving in your home office, or perhaps you’re just endeavoring to add minimalist ceramics throughout your home, an alluring art-glass centerpiece bowl or antique rustic fisherman’s basket is an easy way to elevate high-trafficked areas of your apartment or house.

Aside from the obvious functionality that a decorative bowl or basket brings to your kitchen, displaying such items behind the glass doors of a vintage storage cabinet or on your open kitchen shelving allows you to add a touch of personality and flair to the space, particularly if you’re accustomed to serving cocktails while you cook or if the kitchen is a common area for gathering and unpacking the events of the day.

As your bookcase is so much more than a place to, well, store books, adding a decorative bowl or basket — a mid-century modern work or an Art Nouveau–-era piece designed by French art-glass makers Daum — to the space where you keep your art monographs and coveted first editions can draw attention to your treasured library.

For the tranquil California coastal-style interiors you’ve worked so hard to create, fill a hand-carved wooden bowl on your console table with glass fishing floats or seashells, while a tall woven vessel by your front door can be populated with leafy green plants.

For anywhere and everywhere in your home, find a wide variety of antique or modern decorative baskets and bowls on 1stDibs today.