Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe mid-century modern American furniture. The style, which emerged primarily in the years following World War II, is characterized by pieces that were conceived and made in an energetic, optimistic spirit by creators who believed that good design was an essential part of good living.
Postwar American architects and designers were animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist “International Style” architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the ’30s by Philip Johnson and others. New building techniques, such as “post-and-beam” construction, allowed the International-style schemes to be realized on a small scale, in open-plan houses with long walls of glass.
Materials developed for wartime use became available for domestic goods and were incorporated into mid-century modern furniture designs. Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, who had experimented extensively with molded plywood, eagerly embraced fiberglass for, respectively, pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair. George Nelson and his design team created Bubble lamp shades using a new translucent polymer skin. Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were re-purposed: the Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs that used surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.
As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century designers caught the spirit.
Classically-oriented creators such as Edward Wormley, house designer for Dunbar Inc., offered such pieces as the sinuous Listen to Me chaise; the British expatriate T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings switched gears, creating items such as the tiered, biomorphic Mesa table. There were Young Turks such as Paul McCobb — who designed holistic groups of sleek, blonde-wood furniture — and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.
As the collection of vintage mid-century modern American furniture on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
1930s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Art Glass, Murano Glass
1960s Mexican Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Rosewood
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
1980s North American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Art Glass
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
Early 1800s Italian Antique Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal, Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass, Art Glass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century British Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal
Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Straw, Blown Glass, Wood
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Rosewood
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Teak
1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal, Chrome
1960s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
2010s Danish Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
1980s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1970s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stainless Steel
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Textile, Plywood
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Suede, Wood
1970s Polish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass, Murano Glass, Art Glass
1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stainless Steel
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stainless Steel
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Art Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Glass
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Murano Glass
2010s Danish Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
1950s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stoneware
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Horn
1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver, Silver
1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
1930s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
1940s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
1960s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Linen
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
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