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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1940s French Vintage Modern Boxes
Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Glass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver
2010s South African Modern Boxes
Copper, Brass
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Fabric, Wood
Early 2000s Italian Modern Boxes
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Boxes
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Nickel
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Boxes
Silver Plate
2010s Unknown Modern Boxes
Horn
2010s Argentine Modern Boxes
Stone, Onyx
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Boxes
Acrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Birdseye Maple, Leather
Late 20th Century American Modern Boxes
Ceramic
20th Century European Modern Boxes
Silver
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Boxes
Acrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Pearwood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Metal, Silver Plate
2010s Mexican Modern Boxes
Acrylic
2010s Argentine Modern Boxes
Stone, Onyx
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Ebony
Mid-20th Century American Modern Boxes
Ceramic
2010s Argentine Modern Boxes
Stone, Onyx
20th Century German Modern Boxes
Ceramic
1960s French Vintage Modern Boxes
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Suede, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Stone
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Stone
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Stone
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Marble
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver, Enamel
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Boxes
Porcelain
20th Century Modern Boxes
Onyx, Marble, Brass
Mid-20th Century American Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century American Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Boxes
Brass
1980s French Vintage Modern Boxes
Metal, Chrome
1960s French Vintage Modern Boxes
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Boxes
Porcelain
1980s American Vintage Modern Boxes
Stone, Travertine, Marble, Metal, Brass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Boxes
Mirror, Paper
2010s Argentine Modern Boxes
Metal, Sheet Metal
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Metal
Early 2000s Irish Modern Boxes
Mahogany, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Boxes
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Boxes
Wood, Shagreen Stingray
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Boxes
Onyx, Marble, Metal, Chrome
2010s Thai Modern Boxes
Faux Leather
Mid-20th Century American Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Boxes
Acrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass
2010s Argentine Modern Boxes
Stone, Onyx
Early 2000s Irish Modern Boxes
Mahogany, Walnut
2010s Mexican Modern Boxes
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Boxes
Ceramic





