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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Boxes
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Boxes
Ceramic
2010s German Modern Boxes
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Boxes
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Boxes
Ceramic
Early 2000s Italian Modern Boxes
Metal
20th Century Italian Modern Boxes
Pottery
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Boxes
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Leather, Wood
20th Century Unknown Modern Boxes
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Boxes
Ceramic
20th Century European Modern Boxes
Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Boxes
Bone, Wood, Horn
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Boxes
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Boxes
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Boxes
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Boxes
Ceramic
20th Century Chinese Modern Boxes
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Boxes
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Boxes
Enamel
Mid-20th Century Australian Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver, Enamel
20th Century Indonesian Modern Boxes
Silver
2010s South Korean Modern Boxes
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Boxes
Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Boxes
Ceramic
1980s Japanese Vintage Modern Boxes
Silver
1910s British Vintage Modern Boxes
Agate, Sterling Silver
1990s French Modern Boxes
Shagreen, Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Boxes
Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Boxes
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Boxes
Ceramic
2010s Portuguese Modern Boxes
Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Stainless Steel
2010s European Modern Boxes
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Boxes
Ceramic
2010s Danish Modern Boxes
Metal, Other
2010s English Modern Boxes
Acrylic, Wood
2010s Danish Modern Boxes
Metal, Other
2010s South African Modern Boxes
Quartz, Brass
2010s Korean Modern Boxes
Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Fabric, Wood
2010s German Modern Boxes
Ash
2010s South African Modern Boxes
Quartz, Copper, Brass
2010s Brazilian Modern Boxes
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Boxes
Agate
2010s Danish Modern Boxes
Metal, Other
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Boxes
Wood
2010s German Modern Boxes
Ash
2010s Colombian Modern Boxes
Natural Fiber
2010s German Modern Boxes
Plastic
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
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Boxes
Acrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Gold
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