Kam Ce Kam
2010s Indian Modern Wall Mirrors
Cane, Ash, Rattan
2010s Indian Modern Cabinets
Cane, Ash, Rattan
2010s Indian Modern Chairs
Leather, Cane, Rattan, Ash
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2010s Mexican Modern Cabinets
Steel
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Cane, Rattan, Reed, Mirror
Antique 19th Century Indian Cabinets
Wood
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Chairs
Maple
20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Sunburst Mirrors
Rattan, Mirror, Cane
Antique Late 19th Century Indian Cabinets
Wood
Late 20th Century Italian Rococo Pier Mirrors and Console Mirrors
Mirror, Wood, Giltwood
Antique 19th Century Indian Rustic Corner Cupboards
Wood
20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Sunburst Mirrors
Rattan, Mirror
2010s American Modern Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Wood, Ash
Early 20th Century Indian Cabinets
Wood
Mid-20th Century Shelves and Wall Cabinets
Wicker, Cane
Vintage 1970s Indian Moorish Bookcases
Reclaimed Wood
Mid-20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Wall Mirrors
Rattan, Mirror, Teak
Antique 1860s Indian Cabinets
Hardwood
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Cane, Rattan, Reed, Mirror
A Close Look at modern Furniture
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.