Modern Pedestals
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Pedestals
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Pedestals
Metal
2010s Argentine Modern Pedestals
Goatskin, Wood
Early 2000s American Modern Pedestals
Concrete, Stainless Steel, Aluminum
1980s Vintage Modern Pedestals
Marble
1980s American Vintage Modern Pedestals
Stainless Steel
2010s South African Modern Pedestals
Steel
2010s Guatemalan Modern Pedestals
Glass, Wood, Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Pedestals
Hardwood
2010s Mexican Modern Pedestals
Marble
2010s Argentine Modern Pedestals
Goatskin, Wood
2010s American Modern Pedestals
Metal
2010s European Modern Pedestals
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Pedestals
Grasscloth, Wood
20th Century Vietnamese Modern Pedestals
Metal
2010s Mexican Modern Pedestals
Wood, Hardwood, Plywood
20th Century American Modern Pedestals
Wrought Iron
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Pedestals
Glass, Mirror
2010s Modern Pedestals
Beech, Oak
2010s American Modern Pedestals
Reclaimed Wood, Paint
2010s Mexican Modern Pedestals
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Pedestals
Steel, Cut Steel, Stainless Steel, Metal, Copper, Brass
2010s Argentine Modern Pedestals
Goatskin, Wood
2010s South African Modern Pedestals
Steel, Brass
2010s French Modern Pedestals
Travertine, Brass
Late 20th Century Modern Pedestals
Laminate
2010s Indian Modern Pedestals
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Pedestals
Wood
20th Century Modern Pedestals
Wood
1960s European Vintage Modern Pedestals
Wood
2010s French Modern Pedestals
Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Pedestals
Stainless Steel, Brass, Copper, Steel, Cut Steel, Metal
2010s Canadian Modern Pedestals
Wood
2010s French Modern Pedestals
Resin
2010s Spanish Modern Pedestals
Marble, Iron
2010s American Modern Pedestals
Reclaimed Wood, Paint
1980s American Vintage Modern Pedestals
Brass, Chrome
2010s Mexican Modern Pedestals
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Pedestals
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Pedestals
Wood, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Pedestals
Wood
2010s Canadian Modern Pedestals
Wood
2010s South African Modern Pedestals
Brass
Late 20th Century American Modern Pedestals
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Pedestals
Brass, Metal
2010s Argentine Modern Pedestals
Goatskin, Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Pedestals
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Pedestals
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Pedestals
Wood
2010s European Modern Pedestals
Nickel
2010s American Modern Pedestals
Reclaimed Wood, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Pedestals
Steel
Late 20th Century American Modern Pedestals
Lucite
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Pedestals
Brass, Metal
2010s European Modern Pedestals
Brass
2010s American Modern Pedestals
Animal Skin, Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Pedestals
Mirror, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Pedestals
Brass, Metal