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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Onyx
Early 2000s Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Pottery
2010s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Clay, Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Czech Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
2010s Argentine Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Pottery, Clay
2010s Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
2010s Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Travertine
2010s Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Travertine
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Marble
2010s Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Travertine
2010s Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Travertine
2010s Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Travertine
1990s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stainless Steel
2010s Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Travertine
2010s Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Travertine
2010s Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Travertine
2010s British Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Hardwood
2010s British Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Hardwood, Oak, Walnut
2010s British Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Maple, Hardwood, Walnut
2010s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Majolica
2010s Polish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
2010s Polish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
2010s Polish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
2010s Polish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
2010s Australian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Bronze
2010s Finnish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Oak
2010s Finnish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Oak
2010s Finnish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Birch
2010s Finnish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Maple
2010s Finnish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Maple
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
2010s British Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Hardwood, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
2010s Mexican Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Resin
2010s Mexican Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Resin
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stainless Steel
1970s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Bronze
2010s Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Travertine
2010s Mexican Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Resin
2010s Turkish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
2010s Argentine Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Pottery, Clay
2010s Turkish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass, Nickel
2010s British Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Hardwood, Oak, Walnut
2010s Peruvian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Stoneware
1970s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Stoneware
2010s Palestinian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass