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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Concrete, Cement
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Enamel
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Enamel
2010s Austrian Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Objects
Blown Glass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
2010s Scandinavian Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
2010s French Modern Decorative Objects
Oak
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Concrete
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Concrete
2010s Mexican Modern Decorative Objects
Marble
2010s Mexican Modern Decorative Objects
Marble
2010s Mexican Modern Decorative Objects
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
2010s African Modern Decorative Objects
Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Terracotta
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Decorative Objects
Iron
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Suede, Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Ultrasuede, Wood
1940s French Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Terracotta, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass
2010s Spanish Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Objects
Wood, Hardwood, Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Decorative Objects
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Decorative Objects
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Decorative Objects
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Decorative Objects
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Decorative Objects
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Decorative Objects
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Leather
2010s Danish Modern Decorative Objects
Glass
2010s American Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
2010s American Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
2010s American Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
2010s American Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
2010s American Modern Decorative Objects
Brass, Stainless Steel, Steel
Modern decorative objects for sale on 1stDibs.
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