Modern Decorative Objects
The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw sweeping social change and major scientific advances — both of which contributed to a new aesthetic: modernism. Rejecting the rigidity of Victorian artistic conventions, modernists sought a new means of expression. References to the natural world and ornate classical embellishments gave way to the sleek simplicity of the Machine Age. Architect Philip Johnson characterized the hallmarks of modernism as “machine-like simplicity, smoothness or surface [and] avoidance of ornament.”
Early practitioners of modernist design include the De Stijl (“The Style”) group, founded in the Netherlands in 1917, and the Bauhaus School, founded two years later in Germany.
Followers of both groups produced sleek, spare designs — many of which became icons of daily life in the 20th century. The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics. While Bauhaus principals Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created furniture from mass-produced, chrome-plated steel, American visionaries like Charles and Ray Eames worked in materials as novel as molded plywood and fiberglass. Today, Breuer’s Wassily chair, Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair — crafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich — and the Eames lounge chair are emblems of progressive design and vintage originals are prized cornerstones of collections.
It’s difficult to overstate the influence that modernism continues to wield over designers and architects — and equally difficult to overstate how revolutionary it was when it first appeared a century ago. But because modernist furniture designs are so simple, they can blend in seamlessly with just about any type of décor. Don’t overlook them.
2010s Dutch Modern Decorative Objects
Marble
20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Glass
2010s Chinese Modern Decorative Objects
Fiberglass
20th Century European Modern Decorative Objects
Marble, Brass
20th Century French Modern Decorative Objects
Crystal
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
Mid-20th Century European Modern Decorative Objects
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Paint
2010s Dominican Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Glass
2010s Dominican Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Glass
2010s Dominican Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Glass
2010s Dominican Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Glass
2010s Dutch Modern Decorative Objects
Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Objects
Stone
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Aluminum
1960s American Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Decorative Objects
Marble
2010s Dutch Modern Decorative Objects
Marble
2010s Dominican Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Decorative Objects
Leather
2010s Dutch Modern Decorative Objects
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Concrete, Cement
20th Century French Modern Decorative Objects
Crystal
1990s Maltese Modern Decorative Objects
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Luster
1990s German Modern Decorative Objects
Acrylic, Plexiglass, Lucite
1990s American Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
1990s American Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
Early 2000s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Terracotta
2010s Scandinavian Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
2010s German Modern Decorative Objects
Clay
2010s Dutch Modern Decorative Objects
Marble
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Decorative Objects
Metal
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
2010s Mexican Modern Decorative Objects
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Glass
1990s Swedish Modern Decorative Objects
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
1990s Swedish Modern Decorative Objects
Glass
Late 20th Century Mexican Modern Decorative Objects
Metal, Brass
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Decorative Objects
Cement
1930s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Crystal
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass, Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Glass
20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Glass
Early 2000s Irish Modern Decorative Objects
Mahogany, Walnut
Modern decorative objects for sale on 1stDibs.
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