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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Decorative Objects
Brass, Gold Leaf, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Gold, Gold Plate
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Decorative Objects
Porcelain
2010s English Modern Decorative Objects
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Decorative Objects
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Decorative Objects
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Decorative Objects
Gold Leaf
Mid-20th Century Spanish Modern Decorative Objects
Terracotta
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Quartz
2010s Argentine Modern Decorative Objects
Onyx, Stone
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Blown Glass
20th Century Chinese Modern Decorative Objects
Wood
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
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Decorative Objects
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
Late 20th Century American Modern Decorative Objects
Blown Glass
1910s English Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Silver, Sterling Silver
2010s Swedish Modern Decorative Objects
Sandstone
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Travertine
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Travertine
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Glass, Art Glass, Murano Glass, Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Decorative Objects
Clay
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
20th Century Modern Decorative Objects
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Czech Modern Decorative Objects
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Decorative Objects
Plastic
2010s British Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Porcelain
1970s Czech Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass
Late 20th Century English Modern Decorative Objects
Stoneware
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Metal, Silver Plate
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Decorative Objects
Glass, Art Glass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary African Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
Early 2000s Irish Modern Decorative Objects
Mahogany, Walnut
Early 2000s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
20th Century French Modern Decorative Objects
Crystal
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
1990s Maltese Modern Decorative Objects
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Luster
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Resin
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
2010s Dutch Modern Decorative Objects
Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Spanish Modern Decorative Objects
Porcelain
2010s French Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
2010s Modern Decorative Objects
Jade
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Stoneware, Terracotta
1990s French Modern Decorative Objects
Enamel
Modern decorative objects for sale on 1stDibs.
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