What is Art Nouveau furniture?

Art Nouveau furniture was a style of furniture that emerged at the end of the 19th century and was characterized by its complex curved lines. The curved details in the furniture were typically carved by hand and finished with lacquer. The unmistakable gloss that is associated with Art Nouveau comes from the thick coat of varnish applied to the furniture as the final step of the production process.

How do you identify Art Nouveau furniture?

To identify Art Nouveau furniture, first try to locate a maker's mark on the piece. You can then use it to research the maker with the help of information published in trusted online resources. Some makers, such as Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Louis Majorelle and Émile Gallé, are well-known for their Art Nouveau furnishings. If you determine that a maker identified with Art Nouveau produced your piece, it likely reflects the movement's characteristics, especially if it was made during the late 19th or early 20th centuries. You can also look for common features of Art Nouveau furniture, such as sinuous, organic and flowing lines; forms that mimic flowers and plant life; decorative inlays and ornate carvings of natural-world motifs such as insects and animals and the use of hardwoods such as oak, mahogany and rosewood. A certified appraiser or knowledgeable antique dealer can aid you with the identification process. Shop a diverse assortment of Art Nouveau furniture on 1stDibs.

Art Nouveau Wood Furniture

Tiffany Stand And Furniture Company

Art Nouveau Writing Desk

Art Pairs

Art Nouveau Hand Mirror

French Art Nouveau Cabinet

Wood Casket

$1,361 / item

Fischel, 2 Art Nouveau wood Pedestals, circa 1900.

By Fischel

Located in Mouscron, WHT

Fischel, 2 Art Nouveau wood Pedestals, circa 1900. structures in good condition but deformations and cracks.

Category

Early 20th Century Austrian Art Nouveau Pedestals and Columns

Materials

Wood

Desk Jugendstil, Art Nouveau, Liberty , 1900, France, Wood

$100,000

$18,000 / set

$2,836

$1,906Sale Price|65% Off

$2,395

French Art Nouveau Carved Wood Figural Pedestal Stand, c.1930s

By F. Moreau

Located in Perkasie, PA

Suggested 1stDibs Keywords: French Art Nouveau pedestal, carved wood pedestal, figural pedestal stand, female figure pedestal, Art Nouveau sculpture stand, hand carved wood stand, Fr...

Category

Vintage 1930s French Art Nouveau Pedestals

Materials

Wood

Gilded Wood Sunburst Mirror, Art Nouveau Style, France, Circa 1950

$7,300

Gilded Wood Sunburst Mirror, Art Nouveau Style, France, Circa 1950

Located in Ciudad Autónoma Buenos Aires, C

19th Century Gilded Wood Sunburst Mirror. Original gilt finish on the finely carved wooden trays, with original mirror. France, CIRCA 1950.

Category

Antique Early 1900s French Art Nouveau Sunburst Mirrors

Materials

Mirror, Wood

Émile Gallé Art Nouveau Side Table, Marquetry Wood, France, Circa 1910

$17,500

$742Sale Price|23% Off

Art Nouveau Bentwood Armchair, Beech Wood, Germany, Circa 1900

Located in Darmstadt, DE

The art nouveau armchair was made of bentwood. The seat has been reupholstered and covered with a very beautiful Art Nouveau fabric. The chair is reminiscent of Thonet chairs, but n...

Category

Antique Early 1900s German Art Nouveau Armchairs

Materials

Beech, Bentwood

Recent Sales

"Canape" Art Nouveau, 19th Century

Unavailable

Unavailable

Unavailable

H 11.82 in W 19.3 in D 0.79 in

Austrian Art Nouveau Mirror Frame with Glass Cabochons, Georg Klimt Attributed

By Georg Klimt

Located in Wien, AT

Important picture frame. Viennese Art Nouveau – compare works by Georg Klimt. Vienna, circa 1910, brass, raised and chased, mounted on wood, opalescent blue and red glass cabochons....

Category

Antique Early 1900s Austrian Art Nouveau Decorative Art

Materials

Copper

Mid-20th Century Art Nouveau Wood Mirror

Unavailable

H 18.51 in Dm 37.8 in

Mid-20th Century Art Nouveau Wood Mirror

Located in Valencia, Spain

Art Nouveau / Art Deco miroirs, P. M. Modèles déposés Antique mirror walnut wood marquetry and beveled moon.

Category

Mid-20th Century French Art Nouveau Wall Mirrors

Materials

Bentwood, Wood

Gallè Early Art Nouveau Inlaid Fine Woods Table

Unavailable

Unavailable

H 78.75 in W 44.1 in D 16.15 in

Art Nouveau Vitrine, 1900

By Louis Majorelle

Located in Marseille, FR

Art Nouveau Vitrine, 1900, in the style of Louis Majorelle (no trace of signatures), with foliage and water lilies decorations. Total Height : 200cm Width : 112cm Depth: 41cm. El...

Category

Antique 19th Century French Art Nouveau Vitrines

Materials

Wood

Art Nouveau Salon Set in Carved Wood on a Floral Theme, circa 1900

Unavailable

Unavailable

Unavailable

Unavailable

Unavailable

H 92.52 in W 36.62 in D 5.12 in

From Art Nouveau Balustrade Louis Majorelle

By Louis Majorelle

Located in charmes, FR

Rare railing of carved walnut foliage motifs embellished with central elements carved gilt and patinated wrought iron set of stylized floral motifs. 1900. Plate: 44 x 33.5 cm panels ...

Category

Early 20th Century French Art Nouveau Balustrades and Fixtures

Materials

Wrought Iron

1900th Art Nouveau Jewelry Box with Application

Unavailable

H 2.76 in W 6.5 in D 5.52 in

1900th Art Nouveau Jewelry Box with Application

Located in Krakow, małopolskie

A beautiful Art Nouveau box with openwork application in the Art Nouveau style. Made like a large jewelry brooch. The application pattern is emphasized by ebony black and shine of no...

Category

Antique Early 1900s European Art Nouveau Jewelry Boxes

Materials

Metal

Gustave Serrurier Bovy Gueridon Art Nouveau

Unavailable

$40,278 / set

$3,057

$1,400

H 26 in W 20 in D 1 in

Midcentury Italian Inlaid Wood Floral Wall Panel Decoration

Located in New York, NY

A circa 1950's Italian wall decoration panel depicting a group of flowers on dark background. Polished finish. Measurements: Height: 26" Width: 20" Depth: 1"

Category

Vintage 1950s Italian Decorative Art

Materials

Wood

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Tiffany Studios Eighteen-Light "Lily" Table Lamp

$128,885

H 20.28 in Dm 19.3 in

Tiffany Studios Eighteen-Light "Lily" Table Lamp

By Tiffany & Co.

Located in London, GB

Tiffany Studios Eighteen-Light "Lily" Table Lamp Tiffany Studios (American, 1902–1932) American, circa 1910 Height 51.5cm, width 49cm, depth 49cm This table lamp is constructed in p...

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Vintage 1910s American Art Nouveau Table Lamps

Materials

Bronze

Art Nouveau Table Lamp, Patinated Metal & Murano Glass, Circa 1900

$1,066

H 12.6 in W 7.88 in D 7.49 in

Art Nouveau Table Lamp, Patinated Metal & Murano Glass, Circa 1900

By Marke Unbekannt

Located in Schwerin, MV

Original Art Nouveau table lamp from the 1900s in good working condition and in a rare design: This intricate piece is characterized by the organic, flowing lines and nature-inspired...

Category

Early 20th Century Austrian Jugendstil Table Lamps

Materials

Metal, Brass

$3,290

H 8.86 in Dm 4.53 in

František Pazourek Art Deco Malachite Glass Vase, Czechoslovakia, 1930s

Located in Hammarö, SE

František Pazourek Art Deco Malachite Glass Vase, Czechoslovakia, 1930s An exceptional Art Deco vase designed by František Pazourek in Czechoslovakia during one of the most remarkab...

Category

Vintage 1930s Vases

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Glass

2 Large Italian Art Nouveau Forged-Iron Sconces, A Mazzucotelli, late 19th

$4,424 / set

$442

H 49.22 in W 61.03 in D 0.2 in

Swedish Mid-Century Modern Textile Wall Hanging, Sweden

Located in Hammarö, SE

This Swedish textile wall hanging from the 1960s is a distinctive example of the strong tradition of textile art that developed in Scandinavia during the mid-20th century. The perio...

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Vintage 1960s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Tapestries

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Wool

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Art Nouveau Wood Furniture For Sale on 1stDibs

Find many varieties of an authentic piece of art nouveau wood furniture available at 1stDibs. Was constructed with extraordinary care, often using wood, metal and glass. There are 864 variations of the antique or vintage item from our selection of art nouveau wood furniture you’re looking for, while we also have 16 modern editions of this piece to choose from as well. Whether you’re looking for newer or older items, there are earlier versions available from the 18th Century and newer variations made as recently as the 21st Century. A choice in our collection of art nouveau wood furniture, designed in the Art Nouveau, Art Deco or Baroque style, is generally a popular piece of furniture. A well-made object in our assortment of art nouveau wood furniture has long been a part of the offerings for many furniture designers and manufacturers, but those produced by Emile Gallé, Louis Majorelle and Thonet are consistently popular.

How Much is a Art Nouveau Wood Furniture?

Prices for a piece of art nouveau wood furniture start at $102 and top out at $185,000 with the average selling for $2,831.

A Close Look at Art Nouveau Furniture

In its sinuous lines and flamboyant curves inspired by the natural world, antique Art Nouveau furniture reflects a desire for freedom from the stuffy social and artistic strictures of the Victorian era. The Art Nouveau movement developed in the decorative arts in France and Britain in the early 1880s and quickly became a dominant aesthetic style in Western Europe and the United States.

ORIGINS OF ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE DESIGN

Emerged during the late 19th century
Popularity of this modernizing style declined in the early 20th century
Originated in France and Britain but variants materialized elsewhere
Informed by Rococo, Pre-Raphaelite art, Japanese art (and Japonisme), Arts and Crafts; influenced modernism, Bauhaus

CHARACTERISTICS OF ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE DESIGN

Sinuous, organic and flowing lines
Forms that mimic flowers and plant life
Decorative inlays and ornate carvings of natural-world motifs such as insects and animals
Use of hardwoods such as oak, mahogany and rosewood

ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW

ANTIQUE ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS

Art Nouveau — which spanned furniture, architecture, jewelry and graphic design — can be easily identified by its lush, flowing forms suggested by flowers and plants, as well as the lissome tendrils of sea life. Although Art Deco and Art Nouveau were both in the forefront of turn-of-the-20th-century design, they are very different styles — Art Deco is marked by bold, geometric shapes while Art Nouveau incorporates dreamlike, floral motifs. The latter’s signature motif is the "whiplash" curve — a deep, narrow, dynamic parabola that appears as an element in everything from chair arms to cabinetry and mirror frames.

The visual vocabulary of Art Nouveau was particularly influenced by the soft colors and abstract images of nature seen in Japanese art prints, which arrived in large numbers in the West after open trade was forced upon Japan in the 1860s. Impressionist artists were moved by the artistic tradition of Japanese woodblock printmaking, and Japonisme — a term used to describe the appetite for Japanese art and culture in Europe at the time — greatly informed Art Nouveau.

The Art Nouveau style quickly reached a wide audience in Europe via advertising posters, book covers, illustrations and other work by such artists as Aubrey Beardsley, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Alphonse Mucha. While all Art Nouveau designs share common formal elements, different countries and regions produced their own variants.

In Scotland, the architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh developed a singular, restrained look based on scale rather than ornament; a style best known from his narrow chairs with exceedingly tall backs, designed for Glasgow tea rooms. Meanwhile in France, Hector Guimard — whose iconic 1896 entry arches for the Paris Metro are still in use — and Louis Majorelle produced chairs, desks, bed frames and cabinets with sweeping lines and rich veneers.

The Art Nouveau movement was known as Jugendstil ("Youth Style") in Germany, and in Austria the designers of the Vienna Secession group — notably Koloman Moser, Josef Hoffmann and Joseph Maria Olbrich — produced a relatively austere iteration of the Art Nouveau style, which mixed curving and geometric elements.

Art Nouveau revitalized all of the applied arts. Ceramists such as Ernest Chaplet and Edmond Lachenal created new forms covered in novel and rediscovered glazes that produced thick, foam-like finishes. Bold vases, bowls and lighting designs in acid-etched and marquetry cameo glass by Émile Gallé and the Daum Freres appeared in France, while in New York the glass workshop-cum-laboratory of Louis Comfort Tiffany — the core of what eventually became a multimedia decorative-arts manufactory called Tiffany Studios — brought out buoyant pieces in opalescent favrile glass.

Jewelry design was revolutionized, as settings, for the first time, were emphasized as much as, or more than, gemstones. A favorite Art Nouveau jewelry motif was insects (think of Tiffany, in his famed Dragonflies glass lampshade).

Like a mayfly, Art Nouveau was short-lived. The sensuous, languorous style fell out of favor early in the 20th century, deemed perhaps too light and insubstantial for European tastes in the aftermath of World War I. But as the designs on 1stDibs demonstrate, Art Nouveau retains its power to fascinate and seduce.

There are ways to tastefully integrate a touch of Art Nouveau into even the most modern interior — browse an extraordinary collection of original antique Art Nouveau furniture on 1stDibs, which includes decorative objects, seating, tables, garden elements and more.

Questions About Art Nouveau Wood Furniture

What is Art Nouveau furniture?
1 Answer
1stDibs ExpertAugust 15, 2019
Art Nouveau furniture was a style of furniture that emerged at the end of the 19th century and was characterized by its complex curved lines. The curved details in the furniture were typically carved by hand and finished with lacquer. The unmistakable gloss that is associated with Art Nouveau comes from the thick coat of varnish applied to the furniture as the final step of the production process.
How do you identify Art Nouveau furniture?
1 Answer
1stDibs ExpertNovember 4, 2024
To identify Art Nouveau furniture, first try to locate a maker's mark on the piece. You can then use it to research the maker with the help of information published in trusted online resources. Some makers, such as Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Louis Majorelle and Émile Gallé, are well-known for their Art Nouveau furnishings. If you determine that a maker identified with Art Nouveau produced your piece, it likely reflects the movement's characteristics, especially if it was made during the late 19th or early 20th centuries. You can also look for common features of Art Nouveau furniture, such as sinuous, organic and flowing lines; forms that mimic flowers and plant life; decorative inlays and ornate carvings of natural-world motifs such as insects and animals and the use of hardwoods such as oak, mahogany and rosewood. A certified appraiser or knowledgeable antique dealer can aid you with the identification process. Shop a diverse assortment of Art Nouveau furniture on 1stDibs.

Art Nouveau Master Alphonse Mucha Created Much More Than Parisian Posters

Aside from his iconic commercial prints, the Czech artist endeavored to make works that spoke to the soul.

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