Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe mid-century modern American furniture. The style, which emerged primarily in the years following World War II, is characterized by pieces that were conceived and made in an energetic, optimistic spirit by creators who believed that good design was an essential part of good living.
Postwar American architects and designers were animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist “International Style” architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the ’30s by Philip Johnson and others. New building techniques, such as “post-and-beam” construction, allowed the International-style schemes to be realized on a small scale, in open-plan houses with long walls of glass.
Materials developed for wartime use became available for domestic goods and were incorporated into mid-century modern furniture designs. Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, who had experimented extensively with molded plywood, eagerly embraced fiberglass for, respectively, pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair. George Nelson and his design team created Bubble lamp shades using a new translucent polymer skin. Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were re-purposed: the Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs that used surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.
As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century designers caught the spirit.
Classically-oriented creators such as Edward Wormley, house designer for Dunbar Inc., offered such pieces as the sinuous Listen to Me chaise; the British expatriate T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings switched gears, creating items such as the tiered, biomorphic Mesa table. There were Young Turks such as Paul McCobb — who designed holistic groups of sleek, blonde-wood furniture — and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.
As the collection of vintage mid-century modern American furniture on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Silver Plate
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Alabaster, Marble, Metal
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Metal
1970s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Gold Leaf
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Silver, Enamel
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Leather
2010s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Brass
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Crystal
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Mahogany, Maple
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Brass
1910s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Crystal, Bronze
20th Century African Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Ceramic
1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Enamel
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Alabaster
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Brass
1930s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Crystal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Walnut
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Glass, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary North American Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Brass
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Felt, Cocobolo
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Sterling Silver
1970s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Metal, Silver Plate
1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Enamel
1990s American Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Machiche
1930s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Glass
1960s Polish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Wood
1970s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Lapis Lazuli, Brass
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Blown Glass, Murano Glass
Mid-20th Century Japanese Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Wood
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Pine, Cedar
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Stone, Pewter
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Lacquer
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Stone, Brass
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Alabaster, Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Silver
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Alabaster, Brass
1960s Mexican Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Cocobolo
20th Century Mexican Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Silver Plate, Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Brass
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Brass
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Ceramic
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Wood, Shell, Mother-of-Pearl
20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Alabaster
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Glass, Wood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Walnut
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Metal
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Travertine
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Burl
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Brass
1950s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Porcelain, Rosewood, Teak
1980s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Shagreen
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Silver Plate