Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
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 Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Iron
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Walnut
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Berlin Iron
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Brass
Late 19th Century American Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Brass
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Walnut
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Iron
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Other, Iron
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Wrought Iron
Mid-20th Century Azerbaijani Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Ceramic
1880s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Ceramic
1880s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Ceramic
Early 20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Wrought Iron
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Iron
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Brass, Iron
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Iron
1870s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Brass, Iron
Mid-20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Concrete
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Brass, Wrought Iron
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Walnut
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Wrought Iron
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Walnut, Pottery
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Brass
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Walnut
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Oak
1840s Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Iron
Mid-18th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Iron
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Statuary Marble
1880s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Brass
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Concrete, Cement
Mid-19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Brass
Late 19th Century European Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Wood
19th Century Spanish Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Oak
Late 19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Walnut
2010s South African Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Stainless Steel, Steel
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Iron
1890s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Faience
1870s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Glass, Wood
1890s Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Iron
1890s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Brass
Early 1900s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Iron
Early 20th Century North American Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Iron
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Brass, Copper, Metal
Early 20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Iron
Early 20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Iron
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Iron
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Chrome
1880s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Brass, Iron
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Walnut
Early 20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Iron
1880s Scottish Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Iron
Early 20th Century European Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Stained Glass, Wood
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Iron
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Iron, Tôle
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Iron
1880s German Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Wrought Iron
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Building and Garden Elements
Iron