Modern Vases
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Vases
Blown Glass
2010s American Modern Vases
Ceramic, Clay, Porcelain
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Vases
Murano Glass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Vases
Terracotta
2010s American Modern Vases
Ceramic, Porcelain, Clay
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Marble
2010s Czech Modern Vases
Blown Glass
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Ceramic
20th Century Unknown Modern Vases
Ceramic, Art Glass
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Ceramic
2010s Dutch Modern Vases
Ceramic, Earthenware
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Travertine
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Travertine
2010s Czech Modern Vases
Blown Glass
Late 20th Century Canadian Modern Vases
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Marble
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Vases
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Vases
Murano Glass
2010s Malaysian Modern Vases
Copper
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Marble
Early 2000s Italian Modern Vases
Ceramic, Wood, Glass
2010s French Modern Vases
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Vases
Gold
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Vases
Travertine
1970s Czech Vintage Modern Vases
Art Glass
1990s Italian Modern Vases
Glass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Vases
Silver Plate
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Vases
Murano Glass
2010s American Modern Vases
Ceramic, Clay, Pottery, Stoneware
2010s American Modern Vases
Gold
2010s Polish Modern Vases
Terracotta
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Vases
Art Glass, Blown Glass
2010s Brazilian Modern Vases
Wood
2010s Singaporean Modern Vases
Marble
Early 2000s Italian Modern Vases
Ceramic, Glass, Wood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Vases
Crystal
2010s Polish Modern Vases
Terracotta
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Ceramic, Majolica, Clay
2010s Singaporean Modern Vases
Marble
1960s German Vintage Modern Vases
Art Glass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Vases
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Marble
Early 2000s Italian Modern Vases
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Marble
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Vases
Art Glass
2010s Dutch Modern Vases
Ceramic, Earthenware
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Vases
Murano Glass
2010s Mexican Modern Vases
Stoneware
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Vases
Blown Glass, Murano Glass
2010s French Modern Vases
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Philippine Modern Vases
Bamboo
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Marble
2010s French Modern Vases
Bronze