Modern Tribal Art
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
20th Century Mexican Modern Tribal Art
Brass, Bronze
1980s American Vintage Modern Tribal Art
Wood, Paper
Early 20th Century Ivorian Modern Tribal Art
Wood
1990s Australian Modern Tribal Art
Acrylic, Canvas
20th Century Chinese Modern Tribal Art
Metal
Mid-20th Century Mexican Modern Tribal Art
Silver
Mid-20th Century Zimbabwean Modern Tribal Art
Stone
Early 20th Century Congolese Modern Tribal Art
Copper
Early 20th Century Cameroonian Modern Tribal Art
Wood
1980s Congolese Vintage Modern Tribal Art
Gold Leaf
1980s Congolese Vintage Modern Tribal Art
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Tribal Art
Ash
20th Century Nepalese Modern Tribal Art
Sandalwood
Early 20th Century Thai Modern Tribal Art
Silver
20th Century American Modern Tribal Art
Pottery
Mid-20th Century Ethiopian Modern Tribal Art
Wood
Early 20th Century Australian Modern Tribal Art
Wood
Early 20th Century American Modern Tribal Art
Multi-gemstone, Silver
15th Century and Earlier American Antique Modern Tribal Art
Stone
Early 20th Century American Modern Tribal Art
Willow
Early 20th Century American Modern Tribal Art
Willow
Late 20th Century Modern Tribal Art
Early 20th Century Indian Modern Tribal Art
Metal, Silver Plate
20th Century South African Modern Tribal Art
Earthenware
1970s Vintage Modern Tribal Art
Terracotta