Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1980s Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Pottery
2010s Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Marble
1990s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
2010s Japanese Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Murano Glass
2010s Turkish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Moroccan Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Walnut
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Art Glass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
20th Century French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
Early 2000s North American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Art Glass
2010s French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
2010s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Linen
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
2010s Turkish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Travertine
2010s Swedish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sandstone
2010s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Porcelain, Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Onyx
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Onyx
2010s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Marble
2010s French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
2010s German Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
1970s Japanese Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1930s English Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1980s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Wood
2010s French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate
2010s French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
Late 20th Century French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
Late 20th Century Swedish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
Late 20th Century English Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
1930s Czech Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
20th Century French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
Late 20th Century English Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
20th Century English Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stoneware
1990s French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate
2010s Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Travertine
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Steel
1990s Danish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
20th Century European Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Clay