Biedermeier Secretaires
The authentic Biedermeier furniture on 1stDibs is representative of the first modern European decorative style not dictated by the tastes of the aristocracy. Following the Napoleonic wars, a growing, wealthy urban middle class in the German-speaking states of Central Europe began to demand rights and privileges once granted only to nobles. To avoid trouble, the upwardly striving confined their political discussions to one another’s homes. And so the salon was born.
Cabinetmakers in cities such as Vienna, Berlin and Mainz began to offer goods that reflected the tastes and needs of the new class. The makers of Biedermeier chairs, tables and other furniture used little or no gilding, silver hardware or other lavish ornament. Ebonized trims are common on Biedermeier cabinetry, and neoclassical elements — lyre-shaped chair splats, carved scrollwork, table supports shaped like Greek columns. But the strongest aesthetic statement came from the wood — richly-grained, honey-colored, often book-matched veneers of walnut and fruitwood.
There are two iconic Biedermeier furniture forms, both made to outfit rooms designed for conversation. One is the sofa, deeply upholstered with a strong, architectural wooden frame. The second is the circular pedestal table, which stood at the center of the room, offering a surface on which to place coffee and cake services; or to roll out a map, or sketch out ideas on paper.
“Biedermeier” was originally a derogatory term — it derives from the pen names of two German magazine writers who mocked bourgeois manners. Looking at the elegant and refined antique, new and vintage Biedermeier furniture offered on 1stDibs, that is now an amusing irony.
1820s Swedish Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Ash, Ebony, Burl
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Walnut
Mid-19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Metal, Brass
1870s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Mahogany
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Birch
Early 19th Century French Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Bronze
Early 19th Century Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Brass
1870s Scandinavian Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Walnut
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Maple, Oak
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Brass
20th Century Biedermeier Secretaires
Pine, Wood, Birdseye Maple
1820s Swedish Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Ash, Ebony
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Bronze
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Mahogany
1960s Austrian Vintage Biedermeier Secretaires
Wood
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Mahogany
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Wood, Burl
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Birch
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Walnut
Early 19th Century Baltic Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Ormolu
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Birch
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Mahogany
18th Century German Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Wood
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Metal, Brass
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Mahogany
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Birch
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Wood, Ash
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Fruitwood, Walnut, Wood
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Metal
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Ebony
Mid-19th Century European Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Mahogany, Baize
1820s Swedish Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Birch
1840s French Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Mahogany
1860s Scandinavian Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Mahogany
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Brass
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Wood, Mahogany
1870s Swedish Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Mahogany
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Cherry, Softwood
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Mirror, Wood, Walnut
Mid-19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Birch
1830s Swedish Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Pine, Wood
1860s Swedish Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Mahogany
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Maple
Early 20th Century European Biedermeier Secretaires
Oak
1820s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Walnut
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Satinwood, Walnut
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Cherry
1850s Swedish Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Walnut
20th Century Biedermeier Secretaires
Bronze
1830s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Iron, Tin
Early 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Mahogany
1820s Swedish Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Oak
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Metal, Brass
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Spruce, Cherry
1830s German Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Birch
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Cherry, Walnut
1860s Swedish Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Walnut
1840s German Antique Biedermeier Secretaires
Mahogany