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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Modern Boxes
Laminate, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Lapis Lazuli, Marble
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Boxes
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Metal
2010s Argentine Modern Boxes
Stone, Onyx
2010s British Modern Boxes
Brass
Late 20th Century English Modern Boxes
Stone, Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Glass, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Boxes
Ceramic
Late 20th Century French Modern Boxes
Fabric
Late 20th Century French Modern Boxes
Leather
20th Century French Modern Boxes
Leather, Zebra Hide
1990s Italian Modern Boxes
Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Brass, Gold Leaf
2010s American Modern Boxes
Oak
2010s Argentine Modern Boxes
Stone, Onyx
Early 2000s Italian Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver, Enamel, Gold, Gold Plate
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Birdseye Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Brass
1990s German Modern Boxes
Steel, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Boxes
Coral
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Boxes
Bone, Horn, Wood
2010s Turkish Modern Boxes
Chestnut
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Boxes
Marble
Late 20th Century Philippine Modern Boxes
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Boxes
Coral
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Boxes
Acrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Ebony
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Brass, Steel
Late 20th Century French Modern Boxes
Brass
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Boxes
Brass, Gold Leaf
20th Century American Modern Boxes
Burl
Early 2000s Italian Modern Boxes
Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Crocodile
Late 20th Century Modern Boxes
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Leather
Late 20th Century American Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century American Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Brass, Gold Leaf
2010s Spanish Modern Boxes
Leather
2010s Thai Modern Boxes
Faux Leather
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Boxes
Brass