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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Boxes
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Decorative Boxes
Porcelain
2010s Unknown Modern Decorative Boxes
Horn
1940s French Vintage Modern Decorative Boxes
Wood
2010s Argentine Modern Decorative Boxes
Metal, Sheet Metal
2010s Argentine Modern Decorative Boxes
Wood, Lacquer
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Brass
2010s Mexican Modern Decorative Boxes
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Decorative Boxes
Ceramic
20th Century Unknown Modern Decorative Boxes
Shagreen
20th Century European Modern Decorative Boxes
Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Boxes
Metal, Silver Plate
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Brass, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Decorative Boxes
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Decorative Boxes
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Decorative Boxes
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Asian Modern Decorative Boxes
Bamboo, Wicker
20th Century British Modern Decorative Boxes
Pottery, Stoneware
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Lucite
Early 2000s Irish Modern Decorative Boxes
Mahogany, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Boxes
Acrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Decorative Boxes
Chrome, Silver Leaf
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Murano Glass
1980s French Vintage Modern Decorative Boxes
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Decorative Boxes
Wood, Shagreen Stingray
2010s Argentine Modern Decorative Boxes
Metal, Sheet Metal
2010s Australian Modern Decorative Boxes
Nickel
18th Century and Earlier European Antique Modern Decorative Boxes
Aluminum
Early 2000s French Modern Decorative Boxes
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Decorative Boxes
Brass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Brass
2010s Argentine Modern Decorative Boxes
Stone, Onyx
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Decorative Boxes
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Decorative Boxes
Bone
2010s Mexican Modern Decorative Boxes
Acrylic
18th Century and Earlier Italian Antique Modern Decorative Boxes
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Chrome
2010s Argentine Modern Decorative Boxes
Stone, Onyx
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Lucite
1960s French Vintage Modern Decorative Boxes
Wood
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Boxes
Art Glass, Murano Glass
2010s Mexican Modern Decorative Boxes
Acrylic
Late 20th Century Modern Decorative Boxes
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Boxes
Metal, Chrome, Bronze, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Decorative Boxes
Laminate, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Decorative Boxes
Chrome, Silver Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Glass, Rosewood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Brass, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Copper
2010s Argentine Modern Decorative Boxes
Stone, Onyx
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Decorative Boxes
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Decorative Boxes
Wood, Shagreen Stingray
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Boxes
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Crystal
2010s Argentine Modern Decorative Boxes
Metal, Sheet Metal