Japanese Step
Antique Early 1700s Japanese Edo Ceramics
Porcelain
Antique Early 19th Century Japanese Edo Cabinets
Pine
1990s Japanese Jackets
Antique 19th Century Vases
Porcelain
Antique 1880s British Anglo-Japanese Card Tables and Tea Tables
Walnut
Recent Sales
Antique 19th Century Japanese Furniture
Vintage 1960s Japanese Stairs
Antique 19th Century Japanese Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Antique 19th Century Japanese Stairs
Cedar
2010s Malaysian Modern Planters, Cachepots and Jardinières
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Planters, Cachepots and Jardinières
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Planters, Cachepots and Jardinières
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Planters, Cachepots and Jardinières
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Planters, Cachepots and Jardinières
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Planters, Cachepots and Jardinières
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Planters, Cachepots and Jardinières
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Planters, Cachepots and Jardinières
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Planters, Cachepots and Jardinières
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Vases
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Vases
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
2010s Malaysian Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
2010s Malaysian Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
2010s Malaysian Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
2010s Malaysian Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
2010s Malaysian Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
2010s Malaysian Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
2010s Malaysian Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
2010s Malaysian Modern Vases
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Vases
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Vases
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Vases
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Vases
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Vases
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Vases
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Vases
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Vases
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Vases
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
2010s Malaysian Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
2010s Malaysian Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
2010s Malaysian Modern Decorative Art
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Decorative Art
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Decorative Art
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Decorative Art
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Decorative Art
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Decorative Art
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Animal Sculptures
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Animal Sculptures
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Animal Sculptures
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Animal Sculptures
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Vases
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern More Candle Holders
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern More Candle Holders
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern More Candle Holders
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern More Candle Holders
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern More Candle Holders
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern More Candle Holders
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Urns
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Urns
Copper
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Acrylic, Wood Panel
2010s Malaysian Modern Urns
Copper
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21st Century and Contemporary British Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
Sheepskin, Beech, Oak
Mid-20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Fabric, Beech
1960s American Sheath Dresses
2010s Philippine Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Shell
Antique Late 19th Century French Gothic Benches
Iron
Antique Late 19th Century Japanese Meiji Vases
Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases
Terracotta
Antique 19th Century French Footstools
Silk, Velvet, Wood
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Console Tables
Enamel
Antique 1810s Italian Other Blanket Chests
Fir
Late 20th Century Chippendale Bookcases
Mahogany
Vintage 1970s French Belle Époque Wall Lights and Sconces
Silver Plate, Bronze
20th Century Art Nouveau Table Lamps
Bronze
Vintage 1970s Garden Ornaments
Iron
Antique 19th Century French Renaissance Revival Beds and Bed Frames
Oak
Antique 1890s French Art Nouveau Dinner Plates
Ceramic
Japanese Step For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Japanese Step?
A Close Look at Modern Furniture
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.
Finding the Right Asian-art-furniture for You
From Japanese handmade earthenware pottery, originating circa 14,500 B.C. and adorned with elaborate corded patterns known as jōmon, to natural elm case pieces and storage cabinets built in Qing dynasty–era China to mid-century Thai rice-paper charcoal rubbings, antique and vintage Asian art and furniture make for wonderful additions to all kinds of contemporary interiors.
Eastern elements elevate any home’s decor. Introduce zen sensibility to your living room, dining room and bedroom with the neutral color palettes and the natural materials such as rattan, bamboo and elm that we typically associate with traditional Asian furniture. Decorative handwoven embroideries and textiles originating from India and elsewhere on the continent, which can be draped over a bed or sofa or used as a wall hanging, can be as practical as they are functional, just as you wouldn’t seek out Japanese room-divider screens — often decorated with paintings but constructed to be lightweight and mobile — merely for privacy.
With everything from blanket chests to lighting fixtures to sculptures and carvings, it’s easy to tastefully bring serenity to your living space by looking to the treasures for which the East has long been known.
For British-born furniture designer Andrianna Shamaris, the Japanese concept of beauty in imperfection isn’t limited to her Wabi Sabi collection. She embraces it in her New York City apartment as well. In the living area, for instance, she retained the fireplace’s original black marble while swathing its frame and the rest of the room in bright white.
“We left the fireplace very clean and wabi-sabi, so that it blended into the wall,” says Shamaris, who further appointed the space with a hand-carved antique daybed whose plush pillows are upholstered in antique textiles from the Indonesian island of Sumba.
In the growing antique and vintage Asian art and furniture collection on 1stDibs, find ceramics from China, antiquities from Cambodia and a vast range of tables, seating, dining chairs and other items from Japan, India and other countries.