period piece

American  

noun

1. something, as a novel, painting, or building, of interest or value primarily because it evokes or epitomizes a particular period of history.

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period piece British  

noun

1. an object, a piece of music, a play, etc, valued for its quality of evoking a particular historical period: often one regarded as of little except historical interest

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Etymology

Origin of period piece

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

Every miniseries and period piece that came after the 1967 adaptation looks and feels the way they do because of what that series achieved.

From Salon • Mar. 28, 2026

And now, just shy of his 40th birthday, Coogler is an Oscar winner, for best original screenplay for horror period piece "Sinners," an unlikely mash-up of racial segregation, Southern blues and vampire-fueled gore.

From Barron's • Mar. 16, 2026

“Sinners” is a supernatural horror movie, an action movie, a period piece and a partial musical.

From Salon • Jan. 23, 2026

Benny, one of my favorite things in “The Smashing Machine” is that it’s funny to realize setting a story at the turn of millennium is a period piece now.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 19, 2025

But it is probably a kind of mock period piece done only a few years ago.

From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro