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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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
1970s American Vintage Modern Decorative Boxes
Metal, Chrome
1980s Japanese Vintage Modern Decorative Boxes
Plastic
2010s German Modern Decorative Boxes
Plastic
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Pearwood
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Boxes
Stone, Travertine, Marble, Metal, Brass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Brass
2010s German Modern Decorative Boxes
Natural Fiber
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Boxes
Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
2010s German Modern Decorative Boxes
Natural Fiber
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Decorative Boxes
Brass
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Boxes
Stone, Brass
2010s English Modern Decorative Boxes
Acrylic, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Decorative Boxes
Brass
2010s German Modern Decorative Boxes
Steel
2010s German Modern Decorative Boxes
Natural Fiber
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Decorative Boxes
Brass
1980s French Vintage Modern Decorative Boxes
Resin
1960s French Vintage Modern Decorative Boxes
Wood
Mid-20th Century American Modern Decorative Boxes
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Boxes
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Decorative Boxes
Chrome, Silver Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Decorative Boxes
Chrome, Silver Leaf
2010s South African Modern Decorative Boxes
Quartz, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Boxes
Brass
Late 20th Century American Modern Decorative Boxes
Wood, Macassar
2010s Mexican Modern Decorative Boxes
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Boxes
Acrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass
2010s Mexican Modern Decorative Boxes
Acrylic
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 French Modern Decorative Boxes
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Decorative Boxes
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century American Modern Decorative Boxes
Sterling Silver
Early 2000s Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Decorative Boxes
Chrome, Silver Leaf
2010s Argentine Modern Decorative Boxes
Stone, Onyx
Mid-20th Century American Modern Decorative Boxes
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Glass, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Decorative Boxes
Horn, Wood
Late 20th Century Modern Decorative Boxes
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century American Modern Decorative Boxes
Sterling Silver
2010s Australian Modern Decorative Boxes
Nickel
Early 2000s Irish Modern Decorative Boxes
Mahogany, Walnut
2010s German Modern Decorative Boxes
Ash
2010s German Modern Decorative Boxes
Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Decorative Boxes
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Chrome
20th Century American Modern Decorative Boxes
Ash, Walnut, Pine
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Lucite
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Glass, Rosewood
Late 20th Century French Modern Decorative Boxes
Paper, Wood
Mid-20th Century Asian Modern Decorative Boxes
Bamboo, Wicker
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Boxes
Acrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Decorative Boxes
Marble
1980s French Vintage Modern Decorative Boxes
Silver Plate
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Boxes
Acrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Boxes
Brass