Biedermeier Cupboards
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 German Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Cherry
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Cherry
1850s Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Walnut
1830s German Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Wood, Elm
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Metal, Brass
Mid-19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Metal
20th Century German Biedermeier Cupboards
Walnut
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Mahogany
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Wood, Mahogany
20th Century Biedermeier Cupboards
Glass, Wood, Pine
1810s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Walnut
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Mahogany
20th Century German Biedermeier Cupboards
Mahogany
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Wood
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Cherry, Walnut
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Walnut
1810s Baltic Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Birdseye Maple
1870s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Birch
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Walnut
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Wood
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Fir
20th Century Biedermeier Cupboards
Marble
20th Century Biedermeier Cupboards
Birdseye Maple, Wood, Beech, Pine
20th Century German Biedermeier Cupboards
Mahogany
20th Century Biedermeier Cupboards
Wood, Maple, Pine
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Walnut, Pine
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Mahogany
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Fruitwood
Early 1800s American Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Brass
Early 19th Century French Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Softwood, Walnut
Early 19th Century French Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Oak, Softwood
19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Pine
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Brass
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Walnut
1840s English Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Brass
Late 19th Century Spanish Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Iron
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Walnut
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Brass, Metal
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Spruce
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Glass, Cherry, Softwood
1870s German Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Glass, Oak
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Fruitwood
1830s German Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Walnut
1830s German Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Walnut
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Ash
Late 19th Century European Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Wood, Paint
1840s Italian Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Pine
Mid-19th Century Danish Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Mahogany
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Cupboards
Cherry