Modern Decorative Objects
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Early 20th Century German Modern Decorative Objects
Metal, Aluminum
Late 20th Century Modern Decorative Objects
Metal
2010s American Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Porcelain
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Gold Plate, Chrome
Late 20th Century German Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
1980s French Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century German Modern Decorative Objects
Metal, Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Glass, Art Glass, Murano Glass, Acrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass
1980s Japanese Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
1990s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Decorative Objects
Horn, Wood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Glass, Wood
20th Century French Modern Decorative Objects
Stone
1970s Mexican Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Stone, Silver Plate, Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Resin
20th Century Modern Decorative Objects
Sterling Silver
Late 20th Century Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass
Early 2000s Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Feathers
2010s Mexican Modern Decorative Objects
Marble
1980s Mexican Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Multi-gemstone, Sterling Silver
1980s Unknown Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Composition
1990s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Decorative Objects
Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century Dutch Modern Decorative Objects
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Objects
Steel
1960s French Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Bronze
1970s Unknown Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Silver Plate
2010s Central American Modern Decorative Objects
Crystal
Late 20th Century American Modern Decorative Objects
Marble, Bronze
2010s Mexican Modern Decorative Objects
Resin
2010s South American Modern Decorative Objects
Stone, Onyx, Metal
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
2010s American Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Porcelain, Clay
Mid-20th Century Modern Decorative Objects
Onyx, Marble
1970s French Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Crystal
2010s American Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Porcelain, Clay
2010s Argentine Modern Decorative Objects
Stone, Onyx
2010s Argentine Modern Decorative Objects
Stone, Onyx
2010s Argentine Modern Decorative Objects
Stone, Onyx
1970s Spanish Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Pottery
2010s Modern Decorative Objects
Crystal
2010s Mexican Modern Decorative Objects
Hardwood
2010s Mexican Modern Decorative Objects
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Decorative Objects
Travertine, Marble
20th Century French Modern Decorative Objects
Rock Crystal, Silver Leaf
20th Century French Modern Decorative Objects
Enamel, Ormolu
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1950s French Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
2010s Mexican Modern Decorative Objects
Resin
Late 20th Century French Modern Decorative Objects
Crystal
Mid-20th Century Swiss Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Glass
Mid-20th Century Mexican Modern Decorative Objects
Marble, Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Resin
2010s American Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Clay, Porcelain
Modern decorative objects for sale on 1stDibs.
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