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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1960s American Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Milk Glass
Mid-20th Century English Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Leather, Walnut
1990s German Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Marble, Carrara Marble
1960s Central Asian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
Early 2000s Indian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Art Glass
Late 20th Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Czech Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
1970s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
2010s Chinese Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
2010s Mexican Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Marble
2010s Brazilian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Quartz, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Wood
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Onyx
1990s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate
1970s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Terracotta
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Murano Glass
2010s Chinese Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal, Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Gold Plate
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal, Silver Plate
Early 2000s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
1970s European Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
Mid-20th Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate
2010s Spanish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
1980s German Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass, Bronze
Early 2000s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
Early 2000s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Pottery
1910s German Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
2010s Chinese Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Aluminum, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Czech Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
20th Century German Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
Early 2000s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain