Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
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.
21st Century and Contemporary Colombian Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Plaster
1970s Italian Vintage Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Mirror
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Bronze
Mid-20th Century Swedish Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Brass
Early 20th Century Unknown Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Bronze
1980s European Vintage Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Resin, Wood
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Gesso, Mirror, Hardwood
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Bamboo, Mirror
Mid-20th Century Italian Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Wood
19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Mirror
1960s French Vintage Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Brass
1960s European Vintage Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Walnut
19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Iron
1870s Antique Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Giltwood, Mirror, Gesso
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Pine
Late 19th Century American Antique Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Gesso, Mirror, Hardwood
19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Gesso, Mirror, Wood
1870s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Giltwood
Early 1900s Italian Antique Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Walnut
20th Century Spanish Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Wood, Mirror
20th Century Italian Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Art Glass
Late 19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Oak
2010s American Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Gold Leaf
19th Century American Antique Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Pine
19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Gold Leaf
Late 19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Art Glass
Early 20th Century Italian Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Art Glass
1960s Swiss Vintage Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Cement
1930s American Vintage Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Bronze
Late 20th Century Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Ceramic
1960s Swiss Vintage Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Cement
Late 20th Century Italian Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Art Glass
2010s American Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Resin, Plaster
1980s Vintage Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Stone
Early 1900s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Bamboo
1980s French Vintage Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Metal
1880s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Bronze
Mid-20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Cherry
21st Century and Contemporary French Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Plaster
1930s Italian Vintage Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Glass, Blown Glass
20th Century Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Wood
Late 19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Metal
Late 20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Wood
Mid-20th Century Italian Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Wood
Late 19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Giltwood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Art Glass
Late 19th Century American Antique Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Gesso, Mirror, Wood, Lacquer
1880s Antique Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Gesso, Mirror, Giltwood
Early 1900s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Bamboo
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Aesthetic Movement Wall Mirrors
Art Glass