Modern 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Modern Boxes
Stone, Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Polyester, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Suede, Mahogany
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Boxes
Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Boxes
Alabaster, Marble, Brass
Late 20th Century Spanish Modern Boxes
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Boxes
Marble
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Plexiglass
20th Century Mexican Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver
2010s South American Modern Boxes
Stone, Onyx, Metal
Early 2000s Irish Modern Boxes
Mahogany, Walnut
Late 20th Century French Modern Boxes
Silver Plate
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Polyester, Wood
Mid-20th Century European Modern Boxes
Mirror, Wood, Burl
20th Century Italian Modern Boxes
Stone, Marble
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Polyester, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Ultrasuede, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Boxes
Aluminum, Nickel
2010s Mexican Modern Boxes
Travertine
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Leather
2010s South American Modern Boxes
Stone, Onyx, Metal
Late 20th Century Modern Boxes
Stone, Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Metal
2010s South American Modern Boxes
Stone, Onyx, Metal
2010s Argentine Modern Boxes
Metal, Sheet Metal
Late 20th Century Chinese Modern Boxes
Copper, Enamel
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Leather
2010s South American Modern Boxes
Onyx, Stone, Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver
Late 20th Century Spanish Modern Boxes
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Boxes
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Leather, Wood
2010s Turkish Modern Boxes
Chestnut
21st Century and Contemporary Irish Modern Boxes
Walnut, Burl
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Leather
2010s Argentine Modern Boxes
Stone, Onyx
Late 20th Century American Modern Boxes
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Boxes
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Brass, Gold Leaf
2010s Argentine Modern Boxes
Stone, Onyx
2010s Turkish Modern Boxes
Chestnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Boxes
Leather, Suede
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Boxes
Alabaster, Marble, Brass
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Polyester, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Brass, Gold Leaf
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Leather, Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver, Enamel, Gold, Gold Plate
2010s Argentine Modern Boxes
Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver, Enamel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
1970s French Vintage Modern Boxes
Silver Plate
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Brass, Gold Leaf
20th Century American Modern Boxes
Burl
2010s Turkish Modern Boxes
Chestnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Boxes
Bone, Wood, Bentwood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Wood
Late 20th Century Modern Boxes
Malachite, Onyx
20th Century Philippine Modern Boxes
Bone, Felt
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Boxes
Horn, Wood
1970s French Vintage Modern Boxes
Stone, Quartz, Metal, Silver Plate
2010s Argentine Modern Boxes
Bronze
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver
20th Century French Modern Boxes
Crystal, Brass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Boxes
Gold, Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Suede, Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Gold