Modern Decorative Boxes
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Late 20th Century French Modern Decorative Boxes
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Decorative Boxes
Steel
Late 20th Century American Modern Decorative Boxes
Wood, Macassar
20th Century French Modern Decorative Boxes
Malachite, Bronze
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Boxes
Brass
2010s Thai Modern Decorative Boxes
Faux Leather
20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Ceramic
2010s Argentine Modern Decorative Boxes
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Decorative Boxes
Brass
1960s Vintage Modern Decorative Boxes
Wood
2010s Mexican Modern Decorative Boxes
Other
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Boxes
Stone, Brass, Metal
2010s Thai Modern Decorative Boxes
Leather
1980s Japanese Vintage Modern Decorative Boxes
Plastic
2010s Argentine Modern Decorative Boxes
Stone, Onyx
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Boxes
Coral
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Decorative Boxes
Horn, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Murano Glass
2010s Argentine Modern Decorative Boxes
Stone, Onyx
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Decorative Boxes
Bone, Palmwood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Boxes
Coral
2010s Argentine Modern Decorative Boxes
Stone, Onyx
2010s Thai Modern Decorative Boxes
Faux Leather
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Boxes
Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Boxes
Coral
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Brass, Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Decorative Boxes
Wood
1940s French Vintage Modern Decorative Boxes
Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Boxes
Rock Crystal, Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Decorative Boxes
Horn, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Decorative Boxes
Bone, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Decorative Boxes
Bone, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Decorative Boxes
Bone
2010s Turkish Modern Decorative Boxes
Chestnut
1950s French Vintage Modern Decorative Boxes
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Copper
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Chrome
2010s South American Modern Decorative Boxes
Onyx, Stone, Metal
2010s Mexican Modern Decorative Boxes
Acrylic
2010s Turkish Modern Decorative Boxes
Chestnut
2010s Mexican Modern Decorative Boxes
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Decorative Boxes
Bone
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Decorative Boxes
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Decorative Boxes
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Decorative Boxes
Brass
20th Century American Modern Decorative Boxes
Crystal, Metal
2010s English Modern Decorative Boxes
Acrylic, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Decorative Boxes
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Decorative Boxes
Bone, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Leather
Late 20th Century Modern Decorative Boxes
Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Boxes
Gold Plate, Enamel, Sterling Silver
1990s Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Brass
Early 2000s French Modern Decorative Boxes
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Decorative Boxes
Porcelain
2010s Modern Decorative Boxes
Shell, Wood