Charles Guillaume Diehl

Charles Guillaume Diehl (1811 – 1885) was a furniture maker from Germany who settled in Paris in 1840.

By 1870 he employed over 600 craftsmen making a wide range of boxes and cases including liquor cabinets, jewellery and games boxes as well as small furniture. His furniture included games tables, lady’s work tables and wedding present furniture. He produced both everyday pieces and high quality deluxe items which he often produced for the international exhibitions.

From 1878 he started making furniture in the ‘neo-Greek’ style, which was characterised by ornate decoration with ancient Greek motifs. He exhibited his work as most of the mid-nineteenth century expositions including the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, the Expositions Universelles of 1855, 1867 (where he was awarded a silver medal) and 1878 as well as the Vienna Universal Exposition in 1872 (awarded a medal of progress).

His pieces are now exhibited in prestigious museums such as the Musee d’Orsay in Paris, The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Metropolitan in New York.