the history of antler furniture by artfour

about antler furniture

the first antler furniture

antler furniture are furniture which are either manufactured completely from e. g. stag antlers, or furniture which are decorated with antler pieces from the stag, deer, fallow deer... or veneered with sliced antler pieces to get a hunting design. antler furniture are in addition often decorated with carved horn roses, wild boar tusks and horns from the ibex or chamois.

history of antler furniture

at the beginning of the 19th century antler furniture were made almost exclusively for the aristocratic range to decorate their hunting castles and countryseats. the first provable antler furniture were developed in the year 1825, manufactured for a hunting castle of the count william of nassau near wiesbaden, germany. other famous collections of historical antler furniture are e. g. the hunting room in the country estate of the brandhof of archduke johann of austria or the antler collection of count arco in his palace in munich, germany.

historical pictures of castle antler arrangements:

the bourgeoisie and antler furniture

from the mid of the 19th century antler furniture became more popular and found introduction into civil households. antler furniture have been one of the great novelties of the great exhibition of the industries of all nations in london in 1851. first of all the german ivory carver and furniture manufacturer h. f. c. rampendahl gained successes on several world exhibitions with his antler furniture. in the aftermath one began to manufacture antler furniture in series. antler furniture and hunting furnishings have been manufactured by several makers in germany and bohemia as there are:

h.f.c. rampendahl, hamburg
p. keutner, regensburg
vitus madel & son, ichenhausen
kurt schicker, regensburg
heinrich keitel, vienna
rudolf brix, vienna

the list displays some of the most important manufacturers of antler furniture but there are known many others. their assortment covered the whole market of furniture and a lot of housewares. one finds in the catalogues antler furnishings (geweihmöbel) like antler gun racks, antler chandeliers, antler-frames, antler chairs, lusterweibchen, antler cabinets as well as small decorative items like desk sets, humidors, wardrobes, cutlery, etc. examining the sales catalogs of the different companies one is struck that some of them have also sold furniture from other companies under their own name.

historical catalogs with antler furniture:

the disapperance of antler furniture

at the end of the 20s of the last century antler furniture productions finds a sudden end. none of the above mentioned manufacturers is still existing. from the time after the second world war are only isolated one-off productions known.

antler furniture today

in the last few years antler furniture became famous as an extraordinary piece of decoration in modern households as well as for the hunting lodges and cabins in mountain areas. one finds several decoration examples with antler furniture in home decor magazines.

there are also modern reproductions which are executed particularly in the eastern european countries (e. g. poland, czech republic), and in addition in great britain, italy or usa. primarily seating furniture, lamps and other small furniture are manufactured in series. however achieve the modern products by far not the quality and aesthetics of the historical exhibits.

antler furniture in museums

today historical antler furniture are exhibited in several museums all over the world. below you'll find a list of some museums which exhibit antler furniture:

artfour · markus mix · werrengasse 3 · 89134 blaustein-bermaringen · germany
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