Postmodern design was a short-lived movement that manifested itself chiefly in Italy and the United States in the early 1980s. The characteristics of vintage postmodern furniture and other postmodern objects and decor for the home included loud-patterned, usually plastic surfaces; strange proportions, vibrant colors and weird angles; and a vague-at-best relationship between form and function.
ORIGINS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
CHARACTERISTICS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
VINTAGE POSTMODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
Critics derided postmodern design as a grandstanding bid for attention and nothing of consequence. Decades later, the fact that postmodernism still has the power to provoke thoughts, along with other reactions, proves they were not entirely correct.
Postmodern design began as an architectural critique. Starting in the 1960s, a small cadre of mainly American architects began to argue that modernism, once high-minded and even noble in its goals, had become stale, stagnant and blandly corporate. Later, in Milan, a cohort of creators led by Ettore Sottsass and Alessandro Mendini — a onetime mentor to Sottsass and a key figure in the Italian Radical movement — brought the discussion to bear on design.
Sottsass, an industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, gathered a core group of young designers into a collective in 1980 they called Memphis. Members of the Memphis Group, which would come to include Martine Bedin, Michael Graves, Marco Zanini, Shiro Kuramata, Michele de Lucchi and Matteo Thun, saw design as a means of communication, and they wanted it to shout. That it did: The first Memphis collection appeared in 1981 in Milan and broke all the modernist taboos, embracing irony, kitsch, wild ornamentation and bad taste.
Memphis works remain icons of postmodernism: the Sottsass Casablanca bookcase, with its leopard-print plastic veneer; de Lucchi’s First chair, which has been described as having the look of an electronics component; Martine Bedin’s Super lamp: a pull-toy puppy on a power-cord leash. Even though it preceded the Memphis Group’s formal launch, Sottsass’s iconic Ultrafragola mirror — in its conspicuously curved plastic shell with radical pops of pink neon — proves striking in any space and embodies many of the collective’s postmodern ideals.
After the initial Memphis show caused an uproar, the postmodern movement within furniture and interior design quickly took off in America. (Memphis fell out of fashion when the Reagan era gave way to cool 1990’s minimalism.) The architect Robert Venturi had by then already begun a series of plywood chairs for Knoll Inc., with beefy, exaggerated silhouettes of traditional styles such as Queen Anne and Chippendale. In 1982, the new firm Swid Powell enlisted a group of top American architects, including Frank Gehry, Richard Meier, Stanley Tigerman and Venturi to create postmodern tableware in silver, ceramic and glass.
On 1stDibs, the vintage postmodern furniture collection includes chairs, coffee tables, sofas, decorative objects, table lamps and more.
A rare silver box / pop art sculpture by Fratelli Cacchione, late 20th century
Located in View Park, CA
An extraordinarily rare silver « cigarette » box / pop art sculpture by Fratelli Cacchionr, 20th century. This amazing silver box was created to resemble several boxes of cigarettes ...
Silver
Postmodern Tessellated Stone Box
Located in Houston, TX
Late 20th Century Postmodern tessellated travertine and black marble box with brass inlay and brown cloth interior lining.
Stone, Travertine, Marble
$88Sale Price|20% Off
Decorative geode and black glass jewelry box by Don Drumm, late 20th century
By Don Drumm
Located in View Park, CA
A very unique decorative jewelry box hand-crafted of black glass, mirror, iron, and geode by Don Drumm, late 20th century. The geode boasts a bevy of brilliant blues, from cerulean t...
Rock Crystal, Iron
Memphis Style Triangular Mixed Wood Trinket Box by Russ Keil
By Russ Keil
Located in San Diego, CA
Memphis style mixed wood triangular trinket box by Russ Keil, circa 1990s. The box measures 4.5"W x 4.5"D x 5.75"H and is made of a padouk, walnut and sugar maple hardwood . There is...
Maple, Padouk
R Romanelli semi-precious stones , rare box / jewelry trinket, exquisite work.
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This is an amazing and exquisite lapidary work. A mix of many hard stones carefully crafted . Many semi-precious stones .Paper label in back , R Romanelli .
Marble
Leather Box with "H" Hardware by Hermès Paris, France, ca. 1970s
Located in Autonomous City Buenos Aires, CABA
Leather Box with "H" Hardware by Hermès Paris, France, ca. 1970s A sophisticated leather box made by Hermès Paris, France, circa 1970s. The piece features a restrained and timeless ...
Bronze
$540Sale Price|20% Off
Montgomery Smith 1983 Figural Whitewater Canoers Covered Vessel
Located in New Windsor, NY
An outstanding hand built terracotta covered vessel by Montgomery Smith, Circa 1983. Signed on the bottom, M. Smith, ' 83. The lid depicts two whitewater canoers clearly concentratin...
Ceramic, Terracotta
Vintage Italian Pink And Gold Alabaster Round Pill Box 1970
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Vintage timeless elegance handcrafted Italian pink alabaster pill box trimmed in gold tone metal. Featuring a hinged lid and gilt brass metal trim,the lid is decorated with a rose, i...
Alabaster
Post-Modern Pink Marble Cylindrical Box, Carved, Pakistan, Circa 1980s
By Maitland Smith, Renoir Designs
Located in Round Top, TX
A diminutive carved pink marble Postmodern cylindrical trinket box. The perfect size for gifting a piece of jewelry or as a gift in itself for a box collector. In excellent condition...
Marble
PostModern MAILBOX 7000 Michael Graves (USA) (1990)
Located in Tinton Falls, NJ
MICHAEL GRAVES (AMERICAN, 1934-2015), ENAMELED ROLLED STEEL MAILBOX, C.1990, H 14", L 23 3/4":An enameled and rolled steel mailbox. By Michael Graves and the Markuse Corporation. The...
Aluminum, Enamel, Steel
$280Sale Price|20% Off
Postmodern Decorative Marble Box circa 1980
By Sergio Asti, Angelo Mangiarotti
Located in San Juan Capistrano, CA
Postmodern Decorative Marble Box circa 1980.
Marble
Maitland Smith Post-Modern Triangle Tessellated Stone Box
Located in Houston, TX
Late 20th Century triangle tessellated travertine stone box featuring black marble and black cloth interior lining.
Stone, Travertine, Marble
Maitland Smith Tessellated Stone & Brass Square Box Postmodern
Located in Chula Vista, CA
For your consideration, a vintage box attributed to Maitland Smith (no label present). Tessellated Stone & Brass Square Box. Postmodern era. Dominant colors: off-white, green and go...
Stone, Brass
Burl Wood Box Organic Modern Postmodern
Located in New York, NY
A studio elder burl wood box, hand-crafted and signed by artist, Organic Modern style Post-Modern period, circa late-20th century. A beautiful hand-made blond elder burl wood box wit...
Burl
1980's Tessellated Stone & Brass Lidded Box by Desia
Located in San Juan Capistrano, CA
Felt-lined lidded box all handcrafted from natural stones Indigenous to the Philippines.
Stone
Vintage Asian Octagonal Lacquer Box with Turtle Closure
Located in Houston, TX
Vintage Asian Octagonal Lacquer Box With Turtle Closure. Lovely 20th century Asian lacquer box with Greek key design and a metal turtle closure. Th...
Mother-of-Pearl, Lacquer
Memphis Style Triangular Mixed Wood Trinket Box by Russ Keil
By Russ Keil
Located in San Diego, CA
Memphis style mixed wood triangular trinket box by Russ Keil, circa 1990s. The box measures 4.5"W x 4.5"D x 5.75"H and is made of a padouk and sugar maple hardwood . There is a small...
Maple, Padouk
Postmodern Granite Stand with Teak Box, Ettore Sottsass Style, 1980s
By Michael Graves (b.1934), Sottsass Associati, Ettore Sottsass
Located in Round Top, TX
Postmodern artisan-made sculptural, carved granite & aluminum stand displayed with handmade, studio craft, teak trinket box. Such a beautiful and unique pairing of objects. We'v...
Granite, Aluminum
MEMPHIS-style GRACIEUX ACCUEIL Lidded Box (1983) / Nathalie Du Pasquier (France)
Located in Tinton Falls, NJ
Around the time that MEMPHIS had become a world-wide phenomenon, several Italian manufacturers approached the various MEMPHIS designers to execute similar work but on different produ...
Chrome
Maitland Smith Post Modern White Tessellated Hexagonal Stone Box 1980's
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Post Modern 1980s Maitland Smith Marble Covered Box with hinged lid and a round polished brass pull on top. Vintage Postmodern geometric design decorative box white tessellated stone...
Stone
Maitland Smith Stone and Gemstone Decorative Box w Drawer
Located in W Allenhurst, NJ
Unique Maitland Smith decorative box with sliding drawer. Beautiful stone work topped with an amethyst stone with brass band. Rosewood interior.
Stone
Fine Handcut Crystal Riverside Perfume Flacon
Located in Geneve, CH
Fine handcut crystal riverside perfume flacon Materials: fine handcut crystal Dimensions: D 5.7 x W 16 x H 16 cm Weight: 1.05 kg Reflections Copenhagen, a collection of handmade decorative mirrors and crystal pieces, finely balanced to Challenge the traditional styles and shapes of todays’ homes by adding new dimensions and possibilities to interior decorating. Julie Hugau and Andrea Larsson, inspired by the graphic expression of Art Deco, the vast contrasts of the 1980s and the opportunity to explore the delicate materials that the mirrors are made of, combined their visions and the start of Reflections was a fact. The collection sums up their perspectives of how to provide new expressions through strength and form, the mirrors are designed with a strong visual structure to create a contrast of light and reflections through non-traditional mirror...
Crystal
Post Modern Snake Skin and Parchment Box by R & Y Augousti Paris
Located in Chapel Hill, NC
Open topped box wrapped in parchment and with a lid having an arched top and continuing down the short sides wrapped in snakeskin with conforming bone edges. Marked on the bottom R&Y...
Animal Skin, Wood
Karl Springer Lacquered Snakeskin Decorative Box
Located in Brooklyn, NY
A scrupulously-crafted, decorative trinket or jewelry box by Karl Springer comprising a rectangular body with a domed, hinged lid and a suede-lined interior. The outside is wrapped e...
Suede, Animal Skin
Maitland Smith Vintage Tessellated Stone Travertine Boxes 1970s Set of Two
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Vintage Tessellated round shape decorative lidded marble boxes by Maitland Smith Set of Two. Dimensions: Shorter: 4" diameter x 6" height Longer: 5" diameter x 7.75" height. Maitland Smith 1970s tessellated travertine table...
Stone, Travertine, Marble, Brass
$5,002 / item
Candy Box by Vetralia
Located in Geneve, CH
Candy Box by Vetralia Designed by Leo De Carlo Dimensions: W 16 x D 17 x H 19 cm Materials: Crystal, gold coated brass VETRALIA Functional Art based in Venice Active in the collect...
Crystal
$500Sale Price|20% Off
Marble Box with Jewish Star of David Design
Located in New York, NY
A beautiful modern style or Postmodern period marble and brass box with Jewish Star of David design, circa late-20th century, 1980s, 90s. Box, att...
Stone, Marble, Brass
Italian Gilt and Blue Ceramic 1970s-1980s Box with Pois and Strap
Located in Varese, Lombardia
This vintage box is made from hand painted and gilt ceramic with a pois and strap relief decoration. it was designed and manufactured in Italy between the 1970s and the 1980s. The bo...
Ceramic
Italian Faux Marble Lacquered Box
Located in Houston, TX
Italian Faux Marble Lacquered Box. Offered is a stunning well executed Italian decorative box with several varieties of specimen marble in a geometric pattern. This box is the perfec...
Wood
$1,165 / item
Small Selene Box by Arcahorn
Located in Geneve, CH
Small Selene Box by Arcahorn Dimensions: D 15 x W 22 x H 4 cm Materials: Leather, wood, horn, brass. Rectangular box in horn and wood with lacquered ivory gloss finish. Lid in wood ...
Brass
Art Deco Lidded Footed Wenge Wood & Copper Skyscraper Centerpiece Box Bowl
Located in San Diego, CA
Excellent Art Deco lidded box. Beautiful stepped sculptural bowl with circular copper foil laminate feet and metal inlay to the lid.
Wood
Set Of 2 Sterlet Caviar Bowls in Horn, Lacquered Wood & Crystal by Arcahorn
Located in Geneve, CH
Set Of 2 Sterlet Caviar Bowls in Horn, Lacquered Wood & Crystal by Arcahorn Dimensions: Small: D 14 x W 14 x H 9 cm. Large: D 20 x W 20 x H 11 cm. Materials: Horn, lacquered wood, an...
Crystal, Other
Set Of 2 Almas Caviar Bowl & Spoon in Horn & Crystal by Arcahorn
Located in Geneve, CH
Set Of 2 Almas Caviar Bowl & Spoon in Horn & Crystal by Arcahorn Dimensions: Ø 24 x H 7 cm. Materials: Horn and crystal. Colours and shades of horn processed by Arcahorn are unique ...
Crystal, Other
Sibilla Cigar Humidor in Horn, Chromed Brass, Cedar & Glossy Ebony by Arcahorn
Located in Geneve, CH
Sibilla Cigar Humidor in Horn, Chromed Brass, Cedar & Glossy Ebony by Arcahorn Dimensions: D 24 x W 32 x H 12 cm. Materials: Glossy ebony, horn, cedar, and chromed brass. Colours an...
Brass, Other
Veletta Tissue Box Holder in Horn, Chromed Brass & Glossy Ebony by Arcahorn
Located in Geneve, CH
Veletta Tissue Box Holder in Horn, Chromed Brass & Glossy Ebony by Arcahorn Dimensions: D 14 x W 26 x H 7 cm. Materials: Glossy ebony, horn, and chromed brass. Available in three fi...
Brass, Other
Priora Box in Horn, Chromed Brass & Glossy Ebony by Arcahorn
Located in Geneve, CH
Priora Box in Horn, Chromed Brass & Glossy Ebony by Arcahorn Dimensions: D 18 x W 18 x H 10 cm. Materials: Glossy ebony, horn, and chromed brass. Available in three sizes and th...
Brass, Other
Priora Box in Horn, Brass & Lacquered Wood with Ivory Gloss Finish by Arcahorn
Located in Geneve, CH
Priora Box in Horn, Brass & Lacquered Wood with Ivory Gloss Finish by Arcahorn Dimensions: D 20 x W 28 x H 11 cm. Materials: Wood with lacquered ivory gloss finish, horn, and chromed...
Brass, Other
$260Sale Price|20% Off
Vintage Post-Modern Travertine Lidded Trinket Box
Located in San Diego, CA
Vintage post-modern travertine lidded trinket box, circa 1980s. The box is in very good vintage condition with no chips or cracks and measures 4.75"W x ...
Travertine
$2,151 / item
Capricia Box IV by Arcahorn
Located in Geneve, CH
Capricia Box IV by Arcahorn Dimensions: D 20 x W 28 x H 14 cm Materials: Leather, wood, horn. Box in Aida pebbled leather, Ice-cream color with handmade dark brown stitching. Lid in...
Horn, Leather, Wood
1990s Signed Master Craftsman Hand Turned Cocobolo Studio Wood Trinket Box Lid
Located in San Diego, CA
Exquisite hand turned signed and dated solid cocobolo lidded trinket box. Beautiful sculptural form. Perfect for jewelry or loose leaf tea. One of a kind piece.
Cocobolo
Maitland Smith Mother Of Pearl Box
By Maitland Smith, Karl Springer, Casa Bique, Robert Marcius
Located in Houston, TX
Maitland Smith Mother Of Pearl Box. Offered is a very large decorative box of tessellated mother of pearl in the geometric Art Deco styl...
Mother-of-Pearl, Wood
Brazilian Agate Onyx and Wood Round Jewelry or Trinket Box, Brazil, 1980s
Located in New York, NY
A Brazilian wood and agate onyx round jewelry or trinket box, in the Modern style/Post-Modern period, circa late 20th century, 1980s, Brazil. Agate is a light grey hue. Piece would s...
Agate, Onyx
$200Sale Price|20% Off
Postmodern Decorative Marble Box circa 1980
By Sergio Asti, Angelo Mangiarotti
Located in San Juan Capistrano, CA
Postmodern Decorative Marble Box circa 1980.
Marble
Vintage Postmodern German Porcelain Box with Lid from KPM Royal Porzellan, 1980s
Located in Hamburg, DE
Vintage Postmodern German Porcelain Box with Lid from KPM Royal Porzellan, 1980s, in Very Good conditions. Designed 1980 to 1989 This piece has an attribution mark. Additional infor...
Porcelain
Postmodern Box with Slate Lid, 1980s
Located in Hamburg, DE
Postmodern Box with Slate Lid, 1980s, in Very Good conditions. Designed 1980 to 1989. Additional information: Color: Black Styles: Postmodern Item Type: Vintage, Antique or Pre-owne...
Glass
$1,430 / item
Selene Box by Arcahorn
Located in Geneve, CH
Selene Box by Arcahorn Dimensions: D 20 x W 28 x H 6 cm Materials: Leather, wood, horn, brass. Rectangular box in dark horn and wood with lacquered black gloss finish. Lid in wood w...
Brass
Esa Fedrigolli Sculptural Bronze 1980s Italian Box
Located in New York, NY
A sculptural decorative lidded bronze Italian box designed by Esa Fedrigolli for Esart. Signed
Bronze
Postmodern Modern Marble and Brass Ashtray Box, circa 1970s
Located in New York, NY
A chic Postmodern marble and brass sphere ball ashtray box, circa 1970s. Piece makes a great decorative object box as well as an ashtray (three indents ar...
Marble, Brass
Post-Modern Lidded Marble Trinket Box
Located in San Diego, CA
Post-modern lidded marble trinket box, circa 1980s. The box has well cut lines and is well constructed The piece is in very good condition and measures 5"W x 4"D x 2"H. Cool little ...
Marble, Brass
Agneta Box III in Aida Pebbled Leather, Horn, Brass, & Ebony Veneer by Arcahorn
Located in Geneve, CH
Agneta Box III in Aida Pebbled Leather, Horn, Brass, & Ebony Veneer by Arcahorn Dimensions: Ø 25 x H 16 cm. Materials: Leather, wood, brass, and horn. Round box in Aida pebbled leat...
Brass
Alessandro Albrizzi Italian White Perspex Boxes 1990s
Located in Reggio Emilia, IT
Italian perspex plexiglass jewelry or storage boxes designed by Franco Albrizzi, with engraved mark under base, Italy 1990s. Please note that ...
Plexiglass
Pair Oggetti Tessellated Coconut Shell Lidded Boxes, 1990
By Oggetti
Located in Chicago, IL
Pair Oggetti Tessellated Coconut Shell Lidded Boxes, 1990’s. Original excellent condition. Measures 6.5” x 6.5” 4” tall
Coconut
Lucite Jewelry Vanity Box
Located in New York, NY
A square Lucite jewelry or trinket box, Postmodern design, circa late-20th century, 1990s. Great to hold jewelry or other small items on a vanity, des...
Lucite
Large Vintage Post-Modern Travertine Lidded Box
Located in San Diego, CA
Vintage large post-modern travertine lidded box, circa 1980s. The box is in very good vintage condition with no chips or cracks and measures 12"W x 8"D x 4"H. Super cool and very wel...
Travertine
Postmodern Ceramic Box by Rita Duvall (1987)
Located in Brooklyn, NY
A beautiful handmade Postmodern ceramic trinket or jewelry box by Rita Duvall, similar in style to the work of Peter Shire and Michael Duvall. Glazed i...
Ceramic
Pen shell Pyramid Box attributed to Maitland Smith
Located in Winnetka, IL
A pyramid shaped box having 4 graduating drawers with brass ball knobs . Made of polished pen shell which is a material that the manufacturer Maitland Smith often used. All sitting u...
Brass
Pair of Post-Modern Small Black Marble Cannisters / Boxes
Located in San Diego, CA
A beautiful pair of post-modern small black marble cannisters / boxes, circa 1970s. The cannisters are in very good vintage condition with no chips or cracks and measure 2.875"D x 4...
Marble
Hermès Paris decorative box in leather and bronze.
By Hermès
Located in Autonomous City Buenos Aires, CABA
Hermès Paris decorative box in leather and bronze. This Hermès Paris decorative box features a cylindrical design covered in textured black leather on the exterior. The top and botto...
Bronze
Dorothy Hafner Rare Prototype Box Uniquely Hand Painted
Located in Sharon, CT
Beautiful hand painted ceramic box.
Ceramic
Fedora Jewlery Box in Glossy Ebony, 24K Gold-Plated Brass, & Horn by Arcahorn
Located in Geneve, CH
Fedora Jewlery Box in Glossy Ebony, 24K Gold-Plated Brass, & Horn by Arcahorn Dimensions: D 13 x W 13 x H 8 cm. Materials: Glossy ebony, engraved 24K gold-plated brass, and horn. Av...
Brass, Other