Neoclassical Furniture
Neoclassical design emerged in Europe in the 1750s, as the Age of Enlightenment reached full flower. Neoclassical furniture took its cues from the styles of ancient Rome and Athens: symmetrical, ordered, dignified forms with such details as tapered and fluted chair and table legs, backrest finials and scrolled arms.
Over a period of some 20 years, first in France and later in Britain, neoclassical design — also known as Louis XVI, or Louis Seize — would supersede the lithe and curvaceous Rococo or Louis XV style.
The first half of the 18th century had seen a rebirth of interest in classical antiquity. The "Grand Tour" of Europe, codified as a part of the proper education of a patrician gentleman, included an extended visit to Rome. Some ventured further, to sketch the ruins of ancient Greece. These drawings and others — particularly those derived from the surprising and rich archaeological discoveries in the 1730s and ’40s at the sites of the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum — caused great excitement among intellectuals and aesthetes alike.
Neoclassical furniture is meant to reflect both grace and power. The overall appearance of neoclassical chairs, tables and cabinetry is strong and rectilinear. These pieces are, in effect, classical architecture in miniature: chair and table legs are shaped like columns; cabinets are constructed with elements that mirror friezes and pediments.
Yet neoclassicism is enlivened by gilt and silver leaf, marquetry, and carved and applied ornamental motifs based on Greek and Roman sculpture: acanthus leaves, garlands, laurel wreaths, sheaves of arrow, medallions and chair splats are carved in the shapes of lyres and urns. Ormolu — or elaborate bronze gilding — was essential to French design in the 18th and 19th centuries as a cornerstone of the neoclassical and Empire styles.
As you can see from the furniture on these pages, there is a bit of whimsy in such stately pieces — a touch of lightness that will always keep neoclassicism fresh.
Find antique neoclassical furniture today on 1stDibs.
Late 18th Century Italian Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century British Neoclassical Furniture
Sterling Silver
1890s English Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century American Neoclassical Furniture
Sterling Silver
1840s Spanish Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Silver
1850s American Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Silver, Sterling Silver
1990s Italian Neoclassical Furniture
Sterling Silver
Late 19th Century Russian Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Silver
Late 19th Century American Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century American Neoclassical Furniture
Silver Plate
1930s English Vintage Neoclassical Furniture
Sterling Silver
Early 19th Century English Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Vermeil, Sterling Silver
1940s American Vintage Neoclassical Furniture
Sterling Silver
1970s French Vintage Neoclassical Furniture
Metal, Silver
1920s American Vintage Neoclassical Furniture
Silver Plate, Bronze
1920s American Vintage Neoclassical Furniture
Silver Plate, Bronze
Late 18th Century Dutch Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Silver
19th Century American Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Sterling Silver
1940s American Vintage Neoclassical Furniture
Art Glass
1770s English Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Sterling Silver
1870s English Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Silver Plate
Mid-19th Century American Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Silver
Late 19th Century Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Sterling Silver
Late 19th Century American Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Sterling Silver
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Silver
Early 20th Century American Neoclassical Furniture
Silver Plate
Late 20th Century Italian Neoclassical Furniture
Sterling Silver
1930s English Vintage Neoclassical Furniture
Silver Plate
1920s German Vintage Neoclassical Furniture
Crystal, Silver
19th Century American Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Silver, Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century American Neoclassical Furniture
Silver Plate
1920s American Vintage Neoclassical Furniture
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century American Neoclassical Furniture
Silver Plate
18th Century Italian Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Silver Plate, Copper
1790s English Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Sterling Silver
19th Century English Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Silver Plate
Early 2000s Unknown Neoclassical Furniture
Silver Plate
Late 20th Century American Neoclassical Furniture
Silver Plate
Mid-20th Century American Neoclassical Furniture
Sterling Silver
1930s American Vintage Neoclassical Furniture
Sterling Silver
18th Century Spanish Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Silver
Early 20th Century American Neoclassical Furniture
Silver Plate
20th Century Neoclassical Furniture
Silver Plate
19th Century Austrian Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Sterling Silver
Mid-19th Century American Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Silver
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Silver
Early 20th Century North American Neoclassical Furniture
Silver Plate
Mid-20th Century American Neoclassical Furniture
Silver Plate
19th Century Spanish Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Silver, Other
1980s Vintage Neoclassical Furniture
Silver
Early 20th Century Unknown Neoclassical Furniture
Silver
Mid-19th Century American Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Silver
1790s English Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Sterling Silver
1780s English Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Sterling Silver
1790s Irish Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Sterling Silver
19th Century Swiss Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Silver
Mid-20th Century English Neoclassical Furniture
Sheffield Plate, Silver Plate
1830s Spanish Antique Neoclassical Furniture
Sterling Silver