Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
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.
Late 20th Century Unknown Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Walnut, Leather
Mid-20th Century Australian Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
Mid-20th Century Unknown Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Bamboo, Glass
21st Century and Contemporary American Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
20th Century Italian Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Art Glass
1960s Italian Vintage Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
1980s American Vintage Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Bronze
1880s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Walnut
Mid-20th Century English Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
2010s American Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
20th Century Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Bamboo, Rattan
Mid-19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Walnut
Early 20th Century Swedish Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Pine
Early 20th Century French Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Rattan, Bamboo
Early 20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Fruitwood
20th Century Italian Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
1970s American Vintage Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
1860s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Walnut
Mid-20th Century French Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Upholstery, Bamboo
19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Iron
20th Century French Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Bamboo
1950s French Vintage Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Ceramic
1970s Vintage Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Leather, Art Glass
Early 20th Century Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
1960s Dutch Vintage Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal
1930s Moroccan Vintage Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
Early 1900s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
Late 19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Mahogany
19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Mahogany