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Rococo Natural Specimens

ROCOCO STYLE

Rococo was an aesthetic movement in the fine and decorative arts in the 18th century that found its inspiration in nature and fostered an overall lightness and delicacy of form, construction and ornament in interior design. Rococo furniture, while greatly influenced by trends in Italy and Germany, is often called Louis XV style — the movement having reached its best expression during that sybaritic French king’s reign.

The term “rococo” is thought to be a portmanteau of the French words rocaille and coquilles — “rock” and “shells” — organic motifs frequently used in architecture and design of the style.

When it comes to authentic Rococo furniture's characteristics, it is above all sensuous and social. The furniture of earlier eras in Europe had been heavy in every sense; the Rococo period saw the appearance of light-framed upholstered armchairs, side chairs and occasional tables that could easily be moved to form conversational circles.

The signal detail of Rococo furniture design is the gently curved cabriole, or S-shaped chair-, table-, and cabinet-leg. It imitates the bend of a tree limb or a flower stem. In a further reference to nature, furnishings were often asymmetrical and painted white, or in soft, pastel shades. Rococo has become a timeless style, and as the furniture pieces presented on 1stDibs demonstrate, its playful, sculptural forms can provide visual excitement to contemporary, clean-lined spaces.

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Style: Rococo
18th Century Florence Fragment Base with Fossil Shells in Matrix
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
18th century Italian 'Florence Fragment' base topped with a variety of fossil shells in matrix and mounted on a rock coral base. This fragment is from a church in Florence. It was f...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Coral

17th Century Florence Fragment with Wulfenite on a Fishtail Selenite Base
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
17th century Italian fragment with wulfenite on a fishtail selenite base This fragment is from a church in Florence. It was found and saved from t...
Category

17th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Rock Crystal

Red Hematoid Quartz Heart with an 18th Century Italian Angel and a Baroque Pearl
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
Sculptural 'Sacred Heart' - 18th century Italian gilded angel mounted on a polished red hematoid quartz heart and adorned with a natural-forming baroque pearl. The piece is inspired ...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Quartz, Gold Leaf

18th Century Florence Fragment with Elestial Quartz and Ecphora Shells
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
18th century Italian "Florence fragment" vase with an elestial quartz point, chalcedony rosettes, and ecphora shells on a petrified wood base. The elestial quartz has an additional c...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Quartz, Rock Crystal

18th Century Rococo Italian Florence Fragment with Fossil Shells and Barnacles
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
18th century Italian fragment topped with natural forming clusters of fossil shells and barnacles. This fragment is from a church in Florence. It was found and saved from the histori...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Rock Crystal, Gold Leaf

18th Century Italian Florence Fragment with Smokey Crystal Quartz and Ammonite
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
18th century candlestick base from Tuscany mounted with a coordinating ammonite and dark, smoky quartz crystal point. This fragment is from a church in Florence. It was found and sav...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Rock Crystal, Quartz

17th Century Gold Leaf Fragment with Pyrophyllite and Baroque Pearls
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
17th century Italian gold leaf fragment with pyrophyllite in matrix and decorated with baroque pearls. This fragment was originally a candlestick from a church in Italy. The pyrophy...
Category

17th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Rock Crystal

18th Century Italian Sunray Mounted on a Yellow Hematoid Quartz Heart
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
Sculptural Sacred Heart - 18th century Italian sunray mounted on a yellow hematoid heart and adorned with yellow crystal quartz points. The piece is inspired by "The Sacred Heart" in...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Quartz, Rock Crystal, Gold Leaf

18th Century Florence Fragment with Fossil Agate Coral and Herkimer Diamonds
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
18th century Italian fragment with fossil agate coral and Herkimer diamonds on a lucite base. Fossil agate coral is mounted on top of the artifact. Fossil agate coral is Florida's s...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Agate, Coral, Rock Crystal

Sculptural 18th Century Rococo Italian Florence Fragment with Rare Stalagmite
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
18th century Italian "Florence Fragment" vase with a rare application of coordinating stalagmite on a polished petrified wood base. It originally was found a saved from the Florence ...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Rock Crystal

17th Century Italian Florence Fragment Church Vase with Free-Formed Copper
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
17th century Italian 'Florence Fragment' church vase topped with preserved, naturally free-forming copper. This fragment is from a church in Florence. It was found and saved from th...
Category

17th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Copper

18th Century Italian Gold Leaf Sunray with Pyrophyllite and Titanium Quartz
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
18th century Italian gold leaf sunray mounted on pyrophyllite with titanium quartz. The 18th century gold leaf sunray was once a halo motif as part ...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Quartz, Rock Crystal

Pair of 17th Century Italian Florence Fragments with Citron and Ammonite
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
Pair of 17th century Italian 'Florence Fragment' bases from Tuscany topped with polished ammonites and adorned with citron crystal quartz points. These fragments are from a church in...
Category

17th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Quartz, Rock Crystal

Sculptural 18th Century Florence Fragment with a Fossil Shell and Crystal Base
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
18th Century Italian candlestick fragment with unpolished crystals and rare marine fossil (Siliquaria Cumingii) collected from the coast of Minabe from the Honshu island in Japan. Th...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Rock Crystal

18th Century Italian Florence Fragment with Calcite Crystals and Sphalerite
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
18th century Italian "Florence Fragment" mounted with calcite crystals in a matrix of sphalerite. The calcite crystal cluster with sphalerite is from Elmwood Mine in Tennessee. It i...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Crystal, Rock Crystal, Gold Leaf

17th Century Florence Fragment with Tourmaline Crystals on Petrified Wood
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
17th century Italian vase with black tourmaline and crystals on a petrified wood base This fragment is from a church in Florence. It was found and saved from the historic Florence Flood of 1966. This piece is available for purchase but will be premiering in The Florence Fragment Collection with Museo de’ Medici in Florence, Italy on October 12th and can be shipped following the end of the exhibition on November 10th. This is a collection of historical fragment...
Category

17th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Rock Crystal, Tourmaline

18th Century Italian Florence Fragment Candlestick Base with Fossil Coral
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
18th century Italian "Florence Fragment" candlestick base with fossil coral and coordinating shells on a rock coral base. This fragment is from a church in Florence. It was found an...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Coral, Rock Crystal, Gold Leaf

18th Century Italian Florence Fragment Vase with Calcite Crystals in Matrix
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
18th century Italian "Florence Fragment" vase adorned with calcite crystals and mounted with calcite crystals in a zinc matrix. The calcite crystals are from the famous Elmwood Mine ...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Rock Crystal, Crystal, Zinc

18th Century Italian Fragment Base with Mica in Matrix and Silver Leaf Shells
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
Sculptural 18th century Italian base decorated with mica in matrix, and silver leaf shells on an antique metal base decorated with church vestment braid. The 18th century fragment ba...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Rock Crystal, Metal, Silver Leaf

Sculptural 18th Century Italian Fragment Mounted on Phantom Optical Calcite
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
18th century Italian fragment with gold mica and baroque pearls on a phantom optical calcite base. The fragment originally came from a historical church in Italy. It is adorned with...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Rock Crystal, Gold Leaf

18th Century Italian Gilded Candlestick Fragment with Pyrite in Matrix on Agate
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
18th-century Italian gilded candlestick fragment with pyrite in matrix on a polished agate base. The fragment was originally part of a candlestick in a historical Italian church in ...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Rock Crystal, Pyrite, Gold Leaf

18th Century Italian Fragment with Pyrite and a Baroque Pearl on a Lucite Base
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
Sculptural 18th century Italian fragment base with coordinating pyrite and a baroque pearl on a lucite base. The fragment was originally part of a hand-carved piece in a historical I...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Rock Crystal, Pyrite

18th Century Italian Gilded Fragment with Chalcopyrite and Pyrite in Matrix
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
Sculptural 18th century Italian gilded candlestick with pyrite in matrix on a coordinating chalcopyrite mineral base. The gilded fragment was originally part of a candlestick in a ...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Rock Crystal, Pyrite

Sculptural 18th Century Italian Candlestick Fragment with Galena and Pyrite
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
Sculptural 18th century Italian candlestick mounted with galena and pyrite deposits. The gilded fragment was originally part of a candlestick in a historical Italian church in Italy...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Rock Crystal, Pyrite, Gold Leaf

18th Century Italian Ribbon Fragment with Baroque Pearls on Selenite
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
Sculptural 18th century Italian ribbon fragment with natural-forming baroque pearls on a selenite slab. The Italian ribbon fragment original came from a...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Rock Crystal

18th Century Italian Florence Fragment with a Chalcedony Rosette
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
17th century Italian fragment with a chalcedony rosette. It has antique hand-written Italian inscriptions on the base. The chalcedony mineral mimics the color and texture of the distressed wood fragment. This fragment is from a church in Florence. It was found and saved from the historic Florence Flood of 1966. This was one of the worst floods recorded since the Renaissance and drew thousands of volunteers from all over the world to help save the city known for its precious history, artwork, artifacts, and rare books. The volunteers were called "the mud angels" because of the mud and silt left everything from the damage of the flood. There is still the original paint and silt left on the piece to uphold the integrity, craftmanship, and history of sculptural fragment. The story and history of this piece and Interi's collection of Florence fragments...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Rock Crystal

18th Century Italian Mecca Vase with Mica, Tourmaline, and Baroque Pearls
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
Sculptural 18th century Italian mecca vase mounted with mica and tourmaline and adorned natural-forming baroque pearls. The mica and baroque pearls perfe...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Rock Crystal, Gold Leaf

18th Century Italian Gilded Angels on Amethyst and Calcite in Matrix
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
Pair of 18th century Italian hand-carved gold leaf angels mounted on amethyst and calcite in matrix. The hand-carved angels were once part of a he...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Rock Crystal, Amethyst, Gold Leaf

Pair of 18th Century Italian Candlestick Tops with Agate Coral and Baroque Pearl
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
A pair of 18th century Italian silver leaf candlestick tops with polished agate coral and baroque pearls. The hand-carved, silver lea...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Agate, Coral, Silver Leaf

18th Century Italian Leaf Fragment with Baroque Pearl Barite Crystals on Agate
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
18th century Italian leaf fragment with a natural forming baroque pearl and barite crystals on barite in matrix and polished agate base. The crystals have encrusted themselves around...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Rock Crystal, Agate

18th Century Italian Candlestick on Barite Crystals, Copper and Fused Glass
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
18th century Italian candlestick with coordinating natural-forming copper and intertwined with fused glass and baroque pearls. It is on a matrix with tapering barite crystals from El...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Rock Crystal, Copper

18th Century Italian Candlestick Top with Agate Coral and Baroque Pearl
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
18th century Italian candlestick top with polished agate coral and a baroque pearl. The 18th century candlestick top originally came from a candlestick from a church in Tuscany. T...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Agate, Coral, Gold Leaf

Pair of 18th Century Italian Gold Leaf Candlesticks with Polished Coral Pearls
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
A pair of 18th-century Italian gold leaf candlestick tops with polished agate coral and baroque pearls. The hand-carved, gold leaf candlestick tops originally came from a pair of can...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Rock Crystal, Coral, Gold Leaf

17th Century Italian Florence Fragment with Free-Formed Copper and Selenite
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
17th century Italian "Florence Fragment" mounted with a selenite crystal and free-formed copper. This fragment is from a church in Florence. It was found and saved from the histori...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Crystal, Rock Crystal, Copper

18th Century Italian Candlestick Top with Fossil Agate Coral and Baroque Pearls
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
18th century Italian gold leaf candlestick top with polished fossil agate coral and natural forming Baroque pearls. The 18th century fragment comes from Tuscany and has the original candlestick wax...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Agate, Coral, Gold Leaf

18th Century Italian Wood Candlestick Decorated with a Crystal and Shells
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
18th century Italian (Region of Liguria) wood candlestick decorated with a calcite crystal in matrix, a specimen from the Elmwood Mine, and gold leaf shells. This mine produces some ...
Category

Early 18th Century Italian Antique Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Crystal

Meissen Model of a Crouching Kitten, German, Modeled by Otto Jarl, 1903
Located in New York, NY
A model of a crouching kitten by Meissen, German, Modeled by Otto Jarl, 1903. The kitten is shown to have pinkish eyes with a pinkish nose and a blue bow. Th...
Category

1910s German Vintage Rococo Natural Specimens

Materials

Porcelain

Rococo natural specimens for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Rococo natural specimens 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 natural specimens created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include decorative objects and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with wood, stone and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Rococo natural specimens made in a specific country, there are Europe, Italy, and Germany pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original natural specimens, popular names associated with this style include Interi, and Meissen Porcelain. 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 natural specimens differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $420 and tops out at $26,000 while the average work can sell for $1,093.

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