Aesthetic Movement 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.
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Aesthetic Movement Tables
Wood
1970s American Vintage Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut
1890s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Hardwood
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut
1860s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut
1880s Indian Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Mahogany
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut
1890s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Mahogany
19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Bamboo, Wood, Paper
19th Century Spanish Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Oak
19th Century Spanish Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Oak
1940s American Vintage Aesthetic Movement Tables
Wicker, Oak
1920s American Vintage Aesthetic Movement Tables
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Colombian Aesthetic Movement Tables
Metal
Late 20th Century Unknown Aesthetic Movement Tables
Wood
1890s European Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Ash
1970s Italian Vintage Aesthetic Movement Tables
Glass, Mirror
20th Century Italian Aesthetic Movement Tables
Metal
19th Century Dutch Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Wood
Early 20th Century Aesthetic Movement Tables
Marble
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Oak
19th Century American Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Bronze
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Mahogany
20th Century British Aesthetic Movement Tables
Oak
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut
20th Century Unknown Aesthetic Movement Tables
Bamboo
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Brass
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut
Late 19th Century European Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Velvet, Bamboo
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Ebony, Walnut
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Rosewood
1890s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut
Early 20th Century French Aesthetic Movement Tables
Marble, Iron
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Sapele Wood
20th Century English Aesthetic Movement Tables
Bamboo, Wood
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Brass
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Mahogany
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Oak
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Mahogany
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Oak
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut
1890s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut, Macassar
19th Century Chinese Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Wood
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Tables
Walnut