Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
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.
Mid-19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Fruitwood, Mahogany
Early 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Mahogany
Early 20th Century English Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Oak
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Mahogany
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Fruitwood
19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Mahogany
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Oak
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Brass
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Mahogany
2010s Brazilian Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Wood
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Brass
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Hardwood
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Oak, Paint
Late 19th Century Unknown Antique Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Bamboo, Lacquer
19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Bamboo, Mirror
Early 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Mahogany
Early 1900s Antique Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Mahogany
20th Century Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Pine
19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Glass
Early 20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Brass
Mid-20th Century Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Pine
Early 19th Century American Antique Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Oak
1940s English Vintage Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Pine
Late 20th Century Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Steel
Early 20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Brass
Early 20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Mahogany, Glass
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Mahogany
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Bamboo
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Bamboo, Lacquer
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Brass
Early 20th Century British Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Mahogany
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Bamboo, Wood
1880s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Glass, Mahogany
2010s Philippine Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Brass
Late 19th Century American Antique Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Chestnut
Early 20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Mahogany, Glass
1890s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Stained Glass, Ash
1910s English Vintage Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Brass
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Bookcases
Walnut, Amboyna