Large Convex Bronze Colored Distressed Mirror

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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.

As a decorative piece, an antique or vintage convex mirror draws the eye, thanks to its rounded surface.

Like other kinds of mirrors, a convex mirror can act as a focal point for a room, spicing up a traditional accent wall, for example, or as an art piece hung above a sofa in your living room. The appearance of convex mirrors has changed significantly throughout time, ranging from those in the neoclassical style with a decorative border to futurist convex mirrors with ultrasmooth or rounded shapes.

Convex mirrors were developed in 14th-century Venice and gained popularity across Europe in the following centuries. They were regularly included in portrait paintings from the time, such as Jan van Eyck’s famed Giovanni (?) Arnolfini and his Wife (1434), cementing their status as luxury objects.

The establishment of glassblowing workshops in Europe led to the availability of the dome form for convex mirrors, with the inside often coated with molten lead or tin to create a reflective surface. Even though mirrors have become easier to produce over time, the convex mirror — like any attractive Art Deco mirror, Hollywood Regency–style mirror or dramatic wall mirror — remains a sought-after item.

Find the perfect antique and vintage convex mirror for your home on 1stDibs.