Peacock Chairs

Vintage Peacock Chairs for Sale

Looking to rock a vintage peacock chair? If so, don’t hesitate to kick off your search at Chairish! We carry over a hundred different peacock chairs, perfect for lending a sense of bohemian splendor to any space.

Shop with us to discover a wide selection of peacock chairs, including authentic Victorian designs as well as recently made designs that are being consigned by their owners.

We source our chairs from top-selling vintage and modernist dealers across the United States and Europe — as well as individual sellers — to bring you a best-of-the-best assortment that you won’t find anywhere else.

All our offerings have been hand-selected by our curators for their authenticity, beauty and vintage-grade appeal.

Wicker Peacock Chairs, Rattan Peacock Chairs and More

Looking for a peacock chair to add a playful touch to a girl’s room or nursery? Discover a wide array of classic rattan peacock chair designs, including ornate Victorian styles and more pared-down 1970’s designs.

Our collection also includes an assortment of modest, peacock-inspired chairs. These include 1960’s bamboo designs from makers who specialized in the South Pacific-inspired aesthetic, such as Ficks Reed and Henry Link. On the hunt for a white peacock chair? We have plenty available that are perfect for incorporating into a shabby chic or coastal aesthetic!

What’s the Deal with Peacock Chairs? A History

For a lightweight seat, the peacock chair carries a backstory with serious weight. The iconic piece, sometimes dubbed the “Fan,” Manila” or “Philippine” chair, is believed to have originated in East Asia in the 1870s.

Despite its throne-like appearance, the peacock chair forgoes any ties to actual royalty. Rather, popular legend has it that chair originated with the inmates housed in the Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City, Philippines, where peacock chairs were constructed as a commodity to sell.

The chairs were such a draw that the jail even maintained a sales floor, which was heralded by a 1916 Vogue article entitled “Shopping in the Far East.” According to the editors, a stop at the Bilibid Prison shop was a must for procuring the mesmerizing wicker peacock chair.

In a coming-out party of sorts, a derivative of the peacock chair was showcased at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. With its wide radial back, intricate rattan work and hourglass base, the peacock chair channeled the noble charm of Rococo but introduced a refreshing exuberance that perfectly suited Victorian sensibilities.

As rattan peacock chairs landed in England and the United States, Victorians snapped them up, enlisting them as ornamental flourishes for al fresco arrangements. Peacock chairs’ intricate fretwork also enticed designers to render the concept in ultra-malleable wrought iron.

Peacock Chairs and the World of Photography

Still, peacock chairs may have assumed the status of a passing trend if not for the fact that the western world’s peacock chair discovery coincided with the dawn of photography.

Portrait photography demanded photoshoot sets that could be set up and broken down with the efficiency of a traveling circus. Wicker and rattan, lightweight alternatives to wood, became the favored medium for photographers’ chairs.

With its eye-catching curves and radial back that attractively framed the face, the rattan peacock chair catapulted to the top of photographers’ stalwart assets.

A Pop Culture Connection

Following the emergence of more straight-lined design trends like Art Deco, wicker peacock chairs laid dormant for a time, earning occasional gigs on Hollywood photoshoot sets.

Marilyn Monroe and Katharine Hepburn were both famously photographed in a rattan peacock chair at this time. Otherwise, the chair was awaiting a redux. When bohemia blew onto the scene in the 1970s, the peacock chair was again resurrected, functioning as a pseudo-throne for both mainstream and counterculture icons.

Stevie Nicks, Diana Ross and (unlikely enough) Huey Newton, the co-founder of the Black Panther party, all posed in a wicker peacock chair.

Our Love Will Go On and On…For Peacock Chairs!

As designers use them to riff on a multitude of different characters — from billowy bohemia to laid-back island luxury — vintage peacock chairs’ popularity continues to fan out still today.

Why? Well, we’ve highlighted three reasons.

They’re Not Fussy

Renowned for a mutability that makes them effortless-looking indoors or out, peacock chairs are the ultimate anomaly: They’re high-wattage statement pieces that do not require that a room be built around them.

An antique peacock chair thrown in at the eleventh hour can look just as seamless as one that’s used as a founding inspiration piece.

They Can Be Neutral or Bold

Designers who have paraded out peacock chairs on the regular are fond of not just their decorative splendor and obvious cocooning qualities, but their loose, neutral rattan construction as well. It is perfect for allowing snippets of bold wall colors, wallpapers and printed curtains (as well as verdant foliage outdoors) to show through.

A peacock chair’s au natural color is easy-to-pair, but that hasn’t stopped designers from cloaking it in spunky hues to better complement other elements in a room.

White paint can transform a vintage peacock chair into something truly palatial-feeling, especially when placed among accents that mimic its top-heavy shape, such as ginger jars or spray-headed palms.

Tackling peacock chairs’ fretwork may seem tedious at first, but in-the-know designers stand by the fact that a can of spray paint can work magic on these woven wonders.

They’re Adaptable to Different Spaces

It’s common to find designers maximizing an underutilized corner with a wicker peacock chair, but don’t take that as an order to play down its exhibitionist nature. A pair of wicker peacock chairs standing guard at either end of a dining table can lend a palatial air that’s also palpably playful — a win-win combo that can be challenging to pull off at times.

Small or narrow rooms, especially those with a feature wall like a fireplace or window, can also make smart use of a rattan peacock chair. Whereas a bergère or wingback chair can visually block a fireplace or window, a peacock chair will allow both features to peek-a-boo through, thereby making it possible to layer one in front of the other.

Peacock chairs also showcase a particularly upright silhouette which gives them a much more compact footprint than other chairs.