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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s Unknown Modern Boxes
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Boxes
Quartz
1970s American Vintage Modern Boxes
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Boxes
Bone, Wood
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Boxes
Murano Glass
Late 20th Century French Modern Boxes
Hardwood
1980s American Vintage Modern Boxes
Stone
1990s Italian Modern Boxes
Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
1980s Hungarian Vintage Modern Boxes
Silver
1970s American Vintage Modern Boxes
Enamel, Foil
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Chrome
1990s Italian Modern Boxes
Gold, Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Silver Plate
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Boxes
Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
Early 2000s Philippine Modern Boxes
Animal Skin
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Boxes
Ceramic
1980s Japanese Vintage Modern Boxes
Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Brass, Gold Leaf
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Chrome
1950s American Vintage Modern Boxes
Wood
Late 20th Century Modern Boxes
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Glass, Wood
20th Century Italian Modern Boxes
Pottery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Brass
20th Century French Modern Boxes
Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Shagreen
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver, Enamel
1970s Philippine Vintage Modern Boxes
Brass
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Boxes
Acrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Rock Crystal, Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Boxes
Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century Japanese Modern Boxes
Porcelain, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Boxes
Bone
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Boxwood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Driftwood
2010s Australian Modern Boxes
Nickel
1990s French Modern Boxes
Silver Plate
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Nickel
20th Century American Modern Boxes
Crystal, Metal
1920s British Vintage Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Boxes
Acrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass
1940s British Vintage Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Boxes
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Boxes
Acrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Boxes
Bone
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Suede, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Boxes
Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Maple






