Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass, Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1970s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Fiberglass
2010s Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Travertine
2010s Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Travertine
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Majolica
Late 20th Century Israeli Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Bamboo, Lucite
1970s American Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stainless Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate
1970s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Wicker, Cane, Rattan, Resin, Acrylic, Lucite
Early 2000s Israeli Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver
2010s Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
2010s Argentine Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Pottery, Clay
1970s German Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal
20th Century French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal, Silver Plate
1960s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Art Glass
2010s Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Marble
2010s Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Marble
Mid-20th Century French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stoneware
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal, Aluminum
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal
2010s Argentine Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Pottery, Clay
2010s Argentine Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Pottery, Clay
2010s Argentine Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Pottery, Clay
1960s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1910s English Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver, Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Murano Glass, Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary African Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
2010s Mexican Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Quartz
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Onyx
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Terracotta
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Onyx
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
2010s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Clay, Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Murano Glass