Biedermeier Shelves
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.
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Mahogany
1910s Austrian Vintage Biedermeier Shelves
Wood, Lacquer, Beech, Walnut
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Walnut
20th Century German Biedermeier Shelves
Wood, Beech
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Metal
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Mahogany
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Mahogany
20th Century German Biedermeier Shelves
Wood
20th Century German Biedermeier Shelves
Mahogany
20th Century Biedermeier Shelves
Birdseye Maple, Wood, Beech, Pine
1820s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Cherry
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Cherry, Ebony
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Mahogany
20th Century German Biedermeier Shelves
Beech
Late 20th Century German Biedermeier Shelves
Mahogany
1860s German Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Fir, Mahogany
20th Century Biedermeier Shelves
Wood, Pine
20th Century German Biedermeier Shelves
Mahogany
19th Century Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Cherry
1860s Scandinavian Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Mahogany
1840s German Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Mahogany
1870s Swedish Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Mahogany
1830s German Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Glass, Cherry
Late 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Beech
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Ebony
19th Century French Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Ormolu
Mid-19th Century European Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Mahogany, Baize
1830s German Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Wood, Elm
19th Century Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Glass, Cherry, Oak
1980s American Vintage Biedermeier Shelves
Metal
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Walnut
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Birch
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Birch
20th Century Swedish Biedermeier Shelves
Birch
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Wood, Ash
Late 19th Century European Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Mahogany
1830s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Walnut
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Glass, Mahogany, Maple
1910s Swedish Vintage Biedermeier Shelves
Birch, Elm
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Wood, Fruitwood
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Mahogany
19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Shelves
Fir