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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1970s American Vintage Modern Boxes
Walnut
2010s Argentine Modern Boxes
Stone, Onyx
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Crystal
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Bone, Ebony
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Boxes
Brass
2010s Mexican Modern Boxes
Acrylic
2010s Mexican Modern Boxes
Acrylic
2010s Argentine Modern Boxes
Metal, Sheet Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Boxes
Wood, Shagreen Stingray
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Boxes
Murano Glass
20th Century German Modern Boxes
Glass
2010s Argentine Modern Boxes
Stone, Onyx
2010s Argentine Modern Boxes
Stone, Onyx
2010s Argentine Modern Boxes
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Boxes
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Boxes
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Boxes
Bone, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Leather
20th Century American Modern Boxes
Ash, Walnut, Pine
1980s Hungarian Vintage Modern Boxes
Silver
2010s Argentine Modern Boxes
Wood
2010s English Modern Boxes
Acrylic, Wood
2010s Argentine Modern Boxes
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Brass
20th Century American Modern Boxes
Mirror
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Boxes
Wood, Shagreen Stingray
18th Century and Earlier Italian Antique Modern Boxes
Aluminum
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Glass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Brass
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Copper
1990s Italian Modern Boxes
Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Boxes
Wood, Shagreen Stingray
20th Century French Modern Boxes
Velvet
Early 2000s French Modern Boxes
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Murano Glass
2010s Australian Modern Boxes
Brass
2010s Mexican Modern Boxes
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Brass
1970s Philippine Vintage Modern Boxes
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Boxes
Acrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
1990s Italian Modern Boxes
Gold, Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Suede, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Boxes
Quartz
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Murano Glass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Rock Crystal, Nickel
Late 20th Century French Modern Boxes
Hardwood
1980s American Vintage Modern Boxes
Stone
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Maple






