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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Mid-20th Century Swedish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Art Glass
2010s English Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Cast Stone
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
2010s Spanish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
1960s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1990s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Cut Glass, Murano Glass
2010s Australian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Steel
2010s Brazilian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Bronze
2010s Brazilian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Murano Glass
2010s Spanish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Clay, Pottery, Stoneware
2010s Turkish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sheet Metal
20th Century Scottish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
2010s Spanish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
Late 20th Century Canadian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
2010s Swedish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
2010s English Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Chestnut
2010s Spanish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Terracotta
20th Century Danish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Wood
20th Century American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Gold
2010s French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
2010s German Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1980s Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal, Aluminum
2010s Mexican Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stone
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
2010s Spanish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
2010s Spanish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Gold Leaf
2010s Spanish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
2010s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Gold
Early 2000s Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
2010s French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stoneware
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass, Art Glass
2010s British Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stoneware
2010s Spanish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
2010s Spanish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
2010s Estonian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
2010s Spanish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
2010s Spanish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
2010s Estonian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
Late 20th Century Korean Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Art Glass, Murano Glass
2010s Spanish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
2010s Spanish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Terracotta
20th Century German Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
2010s Brazilian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Quartz, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass