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What is the Art Deco Style of Antiques?

French Antique Furniture Antique Furniture Styles ceramics | french antique furniture | vintage art deco furniture | antique crucifix | antique dining chairs | antique european clocks | french styles of antique furniture | chandelier vintage | decorative wall plaques
What is the Art Deco Style of Antiques?

As an antiques dealer, I am often asked how I determine the approximate age of an antique or vintage item. While the true answer to that question is from the experience gained through many years of directly handling antique and vintage items, one aspect of any determination of age is the aesthetic style or design of the item in question. And to this end, the Art Deco style of antiques is one of the easiest styles to recognize. Art Deco furniture is a surefire way to make a mid-century statement in your living room or dining room. Featuring quality inlays fit for the Great Gatsby, this style brings a 20th century glam to your home.

Prior to World War I, the Art Nouveau style reigned the aesthetic world from 1890 to 1914, with an emphasis on lavish, free-flowing designs, which focused on organic motifs. However, by the time World War I ended in 1918, people around the world had experienced a sobering loss of innocence. It profoundly affected our global consciousness, and which, of course, was reflected in the art and design of the 1920s and 1930s. The craftsmanship of the Art Deco style created pieces that make today's interior designers blush. Pieces from the Art Deco period include credenzas, console tables, bookcases, coffee tables, sideboards, dining tables, and more! For your seating needs, maybe an Art Deco sofa or set of Art Deco chairs is what you need. All of these pieces can bring a retro / mid-century modern style to your home. 

Consumers were no longer interested in the elaborate carvings and extravagant nature of Victorian and Revival design styles after WWI, but instead demanded a new modern style based on simplicity and a streamlined design, such as the Set of 6 Antique Art Deco Dining Chairs above. At the same time, home decor consumers were fascinated by new technologies that were recently introduced to the world: the radio, the television, the automobile, the airplane, and architectural wonders known skyscrapers, such as the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building in New York City.

Ever wonder how the name of this modern, streamlined aesthetic originated? It all began at The International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Art (Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes) that was held in Paris in May of 1925 to showcase the new, modern, and functional design of France. Forty three years later in 1968, a museum exhibition was held of many pieces from the 1925 Paris Exposition, and that is when the term Art Deco was first used to describe this exuberant style, firmly rooted in the promise of the future.

Early Art Deco style of the 1920s uses dynamic, sweeping curves, which give the feeling of velocity and speed, and the aerodynamic design of airplanes and automobiles. The Art Deco style at its heart is the celebration of the Age of Machines, of the optimism of spirit that announced the future had already arrived, and it had been carried on the wings of technology.

This disconnection with the past was also expressed by the Flappers, young women who rebelled against societal norms, in the Roaring Twenties. These women shocked society by taking off their girdles, cutting their hair short, and then smoking, drinking, and dancing all night long in the Jazz clubs. This radical break in tradition required a bold, new, and dramatic style, and Art Deco design was recognized as the "bee's knees" and the "cat's pyjamas."

As the Art Deco style progressed through the 1930s, emphasis shifted away from sweeping curves, switching instead to a focus on rectilinear lines and geometric shapes. These geometric shapes were often fractionated, reflecting the Cubist influence of the contemporary artist, Pablo Picasso.

Key attributes of the Art Deco style are the use of geometric shapes, zigzags, trapezoids, chevron and starburst patterns, as well as the stylized use of flowers and animals such as gazelles and birds. The Antique Art Deco Buffet and the Antique Art Deco Vanity above show the focus on a rectilinear design in combination with stylized flowers, as does the Antique Art Deco Chandelier below.  Notice the sunburst design combined with stylized lettering on the Antique Art Deco Crucifix below.

A dramatic and bold color palette was favored in Art Deco design.  Bright yellow, red, orange, green, and blue were used abundantly, especially in the joyful dishware line called Fiestaware in the United States.

After the stock market crash of 1929 when unemployment reached 25% in the US, inexpensive Art Deco products in cheery colors were still in demand as they helped boost sagging spirits, while the focus on technology and the future promised better things to come.

Art Deco designs took center stage at The World's Fair in Chicago in 1933, and again in 1939 in New York City. The most prominent architects of the Art Deco era include the streamlined designs of Frank Lloyd Wright and the father of the steel and glass Bauhaus movement, Walter Gropius. In furniture design, Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann and Jules LeLeu ruled the day, while outstanding glassware was designed by Rene Lalique, whose style was inexpensively reproduced and later became known as Depression Glass.

I hope you enjoyed learning about the vibrant Art Deco style of antiques, and that you agree it is quite easy to recognize.

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ceramics | french antique furniture | vintage art deco furniture | antique crucifix | antique dining chairs | antique european clocks | french styles of antique furniture | chandelier vintage | decorative wall plaques
Aimee @ EuroLux Home

Aimee owns EuroLuxHome.com with her husband and best friend, Greg. With over 20 years' experience in acquiring and selling French Antique Furniture, she is very knowledgeable about furniture styles and how they are influenced by historical events. Aimee has shipped antique furniture and antique furniture reproductions to all 50 States and over 50 foreign countries. Subscribe to this blog for articles about antique furniture construction methods, style trends and even repair tips. Check out our YouTube channel!

3 Comments

  1. Gil Francescone
    Gil Francescone
    I found some good information in your site and bookmarked to visit again . Thanks.
  2. kitty Chen
    kitty Chen
    Dear author,

    So glad to read such a professional essay about antique furniture. A friend of mine has a huge collection of Europe furniture, and I'm intrested in it too. Unfortunately there's few documents for us to learn the knowledge of Europe furniture, we aspire some one professional like you to consult. So could you tell me some weblink or other documents available for the beginner? Thank you very much.
  3. euroluxantiques
    euroluxantiques
    Thanks for your positive comments, Kitty. Unfortunately, there isn't just one website or source I can offer to learn about European Antiques. My knowledge has come from years of study about European history, art, and culture as well as direct hands-on experience of handling hundreds and hundreds of pieces of European Antiques. Please sign up for my RSS feed and I'll continue to post blogs about antiques!