Lladro Oriental Horse
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Animal Sculptures
Porcelain
People Also Browsed
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Tang Antiquities
2010s Italian More Dining and Entertaining
Crystal, Gold, Silver, Bronze
Antique 19th Century Furniture
Wood
Early 20th Century Russian Picture Frames
Diamond, Silver, Enamel
1970s Old Masters Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Antique 19th Century English Porcelain
Gold
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Chinese Export Figurative Sculptures
Enamel
Antique Early 1900s English Neoclassical Dinner Plates
Gold
Antique 1890s Japanese Meiji Ceramics
Porcelain
Antique Late 19th Century French Louis XIV Jewelry Boxes
Brass, Bronze
Late 20th Century English Modern Animal Sculptures
Stone, Gold, Vermeil
Early 20th Century Chinese Sculptures and Carvings
Coral
Antique Mid-18th Century Turkish Arms, Armor and Weapons
Multi-gemstone, Metal, Gold
20th Century Chinese Qing Armchairs
Rosewood
Antique Mid-19th Century French Louis Philippe Beds and Bed Frames
Giltwood
18th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 animal-sculptures for You
Invite the untamed wonders of the animal kingdom into your home — and do so safely — with the antique, new and vintage animal sculptures available on 1stDibs.
Artists working in every medium from furniture design to jewelry to painting have found inspiration in wild animals over the years. For sculptors, three-dimensional animal renderings — both realistic and symbolic — crisscross history and continents. In as early as 210 B.C., intricately detailed terracotta horses guarded early Chinese tombs, while North America’s native Inuit tribes living in the ice-covered Arctic during the 1800’s wore small animal figurines carved from walrus ivory. Indeed, animal sculpture has a long history, and beginning in the 19th century, the art form started becoming not only fashionable but artistically validated — a trend that continues today. At home, animal sculptures — polished bronze rhinos crafted in the Art Deco style or ceramic dogs of the mid-century modern era — can introduce both playfulness and drama to your decor.
In the case of the frosted glass sculptures crafted by artisans at legendary French glassmaker Lalique, founded by jeweler and glass artist René Lalique, some animal sculptures are purely decorative. With their meticulously groomed horse manes and detailed contours of their parakeet feathers, these creatures want to be proudly displayed. Adding animal sculptures to your bookcases can draw attention to your covetable collection of vintage monographs, while side tables and wall shelving also make great habitats for these ornamental animal figurines.
Some sculptures, however, can find suitable nests in just about any corner of your space. Whimsical brass flamingos or the violent, realist bronze lions created by Parisian sculptor Antoine-Louis Barye are provocative and versatile pieces that can rest on windowsills or your desk. Otherwise, the brass cat shoehorns and bronze porcupine ashtrays designed by Viennese artist Walter Bosse are no longer roaming aimlessly throughout your living room, as they’ve found a purpose to serve.
Embark on your safari today and find a fascinating collection of vintage, modern and antique animal sculptures on 1stDibs.