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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
20th Century French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal
2010s Argentine Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Stoneware
20th Century French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal
1970s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Acrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
1980s American Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
Early 2000s Spanish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver
Late 20th Century Finnish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
20th Century Spanish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Earthenware
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal, Bronze
Early 20th Century American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
1980s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Clay
20th Century German Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal
2010s Argentine Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Earthenware
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Earthenware
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Earthenware
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver
Mid-20th Century American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Earthenware
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Earthenware
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Earthenware
Mid-20th Century French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Plastic, Plexiglass
1930s Czech Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Clay
1990s French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Lapis Lazuli, Serpentine, Gold Plate, Brass
Late 20th Century Swedish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Wood
2010s French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Clay
1970s British Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver
1980s American Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Cork, Shell
2010s Finnish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Oak
2010s North Korean Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Shell
2010s North Korean Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Shell
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Clay
1990s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1880s Italian Antique Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Murano Glass
1980s German Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
Late 20th Century French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass