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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
20th Century American Modern Boxes
Mirror
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Glass, Rosewood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Glass, Wood
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver
Early 2000s French Modern Boxes
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Brass
1960s Mexican Vintage Modern Boxes
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Steel
Early 2000s Italian Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Boxes
Bone, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Brass
1990s Italian Modern Boxes
Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Boxes
Acrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass
20th Century American Modern Boxes
Ash, Walnut, Pine
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Walnut
1990s American Modern Boxes
Mahogany, Maple, Rosewood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Metal
2010s Turkish Modern Boxes
Chestnut
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Art Glass, Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Boxes
Acrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass
Late 20th Century Modern Boxes
Acrylic, Lucite
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Boxes
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Modern Boxes
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Boxes
Acrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Boxes
Horn, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Boxes
Acrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Boxes
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Boxes
Bone
1970s North American Vintage Modern Boxes
Suede, Wood, Alligator
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Boxes
Ceramic
2010s Mexican Modern Boxes
Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Boxes
Chrome, Silver Leaf
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Gold, Brass
1990s Italian Modern Boxes
Gold, Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Boxes
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Birdseye Maple
1960s British Vintage Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver
20th Century Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver
Late 20th Century American Modern Boxes
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Boxes
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Leather
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Plastic
Mid-20th Century American Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Boxes
Acrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Maple
2010s Australian Modern Boxes
Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Boxes
Acrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Boxes
Acrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Boxes
Acrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Boxes
Acrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass