Aesthetic Movement Seating
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.
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Oak
Late 19th Century Austrian Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Bentwood
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Walnut
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Beech, Rush
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Walnut
Early 20th Century English Aesthetic Movement Seating
Oak
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Leather, Oak
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Walnut
19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Leather, Beech
1970s Austrian Vintage Aesthetic Movement Seating
Cane, Wood
1890s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Iron, Wire, Zinc
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Upholstery, Walnut
19th Century Austrian Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Bentwood, Velvet
Late 19th Century American Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Leather, Wood, Mahogany
1880s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Linen, Bamboo
Mid-19th Century Unknown Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Fabric, Wood
Late 19th Century Scottish Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Walnut
Mid-19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Mahogany
Late 19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Oak
Late 19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Ultrasuede, Burl, Mahogany
1880s British Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Ceramic
1890s British Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Wool, Bamboo
20th Century European Aesthetic Movement Seating
Leather
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Oak, Walnut
Late 19th Century North American Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Mahogany
1930s American Vintage Aesthetic Movement Seating
Upholstery, Wood
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Velvet, Wood, Ebony
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Upholstery
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Rush, Beech
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Fabric, Oak
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Cane, Walnut
1870s British Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Wood
19th Century European Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Ebony, Walnut
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Pine
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Beech
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Rush
1880s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Fabric, Wood
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Oak
Mid-19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Velvet, Walnut
19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Oak
Late 19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Wood
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Upholstery, Velvet, Mahogany
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Oak
1880s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Fruitwood
Late 19th Century European Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Leather, Hardwood
19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Walnut, Bamboo, Cane, Rush
Mid-20th Century British Aesthetic Movement Seating
Leather
1940s American Vintage Aesthetic Movement Seating
Cane, Wood
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Upholstery, Wood
1990s Aesthetic Movement Seating
Wood
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Wood
1860s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Leather, Hardwood
19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Boxwood, Oak
1860s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Walnut
Early 20th Century British Aesthetic Movement Seating
Leather
19th Century American Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Thread, Wood
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Oak
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Seating
Oak
1950s American Vintage Aesthetic Movement Seating
Silk
Late 20th Century Chinese Aesthetic Movement Seating
Upholstery, Bamboo





