Modern Paperweights
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1990s American Modern Paperweights
Iron
2010s American Modern Paperweights
Brass
2010s Mexican Modern Paperweights
Resin
2010s Argentine Modern Paperweights
Brass, Bronze
2010s North Korean Modern Paperweights
Shell
20th Century Modern Paperweights
Glass, Blown Glass
Late 20th Century Modern Paperweights
Crystal
1980s Vintage Modern Paperweights
Crystal
1980s French Vintage Modern Paperweights
Crystal
1980s German Vintage Modern Paperweights
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Paperweights
Clay
1980s German Vintage Modern Paperweights
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Paperweights
Clay
20th Century American Modern Paperweights
Glass
2010s Mexican Modern Paperweights
Resin
2010s English Modern Paperweights
Cement
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Paperweights
Plastic, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Paperweights
Crystal
Late 20th Century French Modern Paperweights
Crystal
Late 20th Century French Modern Paperweights
Silver, Silver Plate, Metal, Sheet Metal
2010s American Modern Paperweights
Blown Glass, Art Glass
2010s Mexican Modern Paperweights
Resin
1970s Vintage Modern Paperweights
Lucite
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Paperweights
Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Paperweights
Clay
1970s American Vintage Modern Paperweights
Bronze
1980s Finnish Vintage Modern Paperweights
Art Glass
1990s American Modern Paperweights
Gold
Late 20th Century Scottish Modern Paperweights
Art Glass
2010s Mexican Modern Paperweights
Resin
20th Century European Modern Paperweights
Carrara Marble
2010s Indian Modern Paperweights
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Paperweights
Crystal
2010s Indian Modern Paperweights
Aluminum
20th Century English Modern Paperweights
Art Glass
20th Century American Modern Paperweights
Brass, Metal
Late 20th Century Scandinavian Modern Paperweights
Art Glass, Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Paperweights
Clay
20th Century Modern Paperweights
Cut Glass
1970s American Vintage Modern Paperweights
Aluminum
20th Century American Modern Paperweights
Lucite
1980s Vintage Modern Paperweights
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Paperweights
Alabaster, Marble
Mid-20th Century American Modern Paperweights
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Paperweights
Art Glass
2010s Danish Modern Paperweights
Cast Stone
1990s American Modern Paperweights
Art Glass
2010s English Modern Paperweights
Cement
Late 20th Century Russian Modern Paperweights
Art Glass
2010s Mexican Modern Paperweights
Resin
2010s Mexican Modern Paperweights
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Paperweights
Marble
2010s Mexican Modern Paperweights
Resin
20th Century Scottish Modern Paperweights
Blown Glass
2010s Brazilian Modern Paperweights
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Paperweights
Plastic
2010s Mexican Modern Paperweights
Resin
20th Century French Modern Paperweights
Crystal