Biedermeier Cabinets
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.
Early 1800s French Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Brass
Late 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Mahogany
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Mahogany
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Birch
1830s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Birch
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Brass, Iron
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Brass
1830s German Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Glass, Cherry
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Walnut
1830s German Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Cherry
1980s American Vintage Biedermeier Cabinets
Satinwood, Glass
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Marble
Early 19th Century Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Walnut, Spruce
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Walnut, Burl
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Walnut, Fruitwood
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Walnut, Pine
Early 19th Century Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Cherry
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Cherry, Spruce
1890s French Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Walnut
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Birch
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Mahogany
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Walnut, Pine
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Walnut
Early 20th Century European Biedermeier Cabinets
Marble
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Walnut, Spruce
1810s Italian Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Fir
Early 19th Century Czech Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Glass, Wood, Walnut, Spruce, Lacquer
Early 19th Century Hungarian Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Bronze
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Brass
Mid-19th Century European Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Mahogany, Baize
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Glass, Walnut, Wood, Lacquer
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Brass
1890s French Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Walnut
Mid-20th Century North American Biedermeier Cabinets
Maple
19th Century Unknown Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Glass, Walnut, Ebony
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Mahogany
Mid-19th Century American Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Metal
Early 19th Century Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Wood, Mahogany
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Metal
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Walnut
1860s Swedish Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Walnut
Early 19th Century European Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Wood, Birch
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Spruce, Cherry
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Metal, Brass
1870s Swedish Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Walnut
20th Century German Biedermeier Cabinets
Wood
1880s Swedish Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Walnut
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Metal
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Brass
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Brass
Early 19th Century Czech Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Glass, Wood, Walnut, Lacquer, Spruce
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Walnut
1880s Swedish Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Mahogany
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Walnut
1840s German Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Wood
20th Century Biedermeier Cabinets
Birch
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Cabinets
Ash, Maple