Modern Serving Pieces
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Portuguese Modern Serving Pieces
Marble, Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Serving Pieces
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Serving Pieces
Brass, Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Serving Pieces
Maple
1970s French Vintage Modern Serving Pieces
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Serving Pieces
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Serving Pieces
Porcelain
Late 20th Century Modern Serving Pieces
Ceramic
20th Century French Modern Serving Pieces
Metal, Silver Plate
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Serving Pieces
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Serving Pieces
Art Glass, Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Serving Pieces
Glass, Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Serving Pieces
Glass
1970s German Vintage Modern Serving Pieces
Ceramic
20th Century French Modern Serving Pieces
Silver Plate
20th Century French Modern Serving Pieces
Silver Plate
20th Century French Modern Serving Pieces
Silver Plate
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serving Pieces
Iron
20th Century French Modern Serving Pieces
Silver Plate
20th Century French Modern Serving Pieces
Metal
20th Century German Modern Serving Pieces
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serving Pieces
Brass
2010s Indian Modern Serving Pieces
Marble
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Serving Pieces
Metal
2010s North Korean Modern Serving Pieces
Shell
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serving Pieces
Iron
2010s Swedish Modern Serving Pieces
Sandstone
2010s Egyptian Modern Serving Pieces
Acrylic
Late 20th Century Modern Serving Pieces
Ebony, Macassar
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serving Pieces
Gold Plate, Brass
1990s Italian Modern Serving Pieces
Metal
1990s Italian Modern Serving Pieces
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serving Pieces
Silver Plate, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serving Pieces
Brass, Silver Plate
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serving Pieces
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serving Pieces
Iron
20th Century American Modern Serving Pieces
Chrome
2010s Emirian Modern Serving Pieces
Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serving Pieces
Iron
20th Century American Modern Serving Pieces
Chrome
1960s American Vintage Modern Serving Pieces
Milk Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serving Pieces
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serving Pieces
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serving Pieces
Iron
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Serving Pieces
Silver Plate
1990s American Modern Serving Pieces
Porcelain
20th Century French Modern Serving Pieces
Silver Plate
2010s Italian Modern Serving Pieces
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Serving Pieces
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Serving Pieces
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Serving Pieces
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Serving Pieces
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serving Pieces
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Serving Pieces
Porcelain
1980s American Vintage Modern Serving Pieces
Crystal, Metal, Silver Plate
20th Century French Modern Serving Pieces
Stainless Steel
Early 2000s Italian Modern Serving Pieces
Metal
1980s Swiss Vintage Modern Serving Pieces
Brass, Stainless Steel