Modern More Desk Accessories
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
20th Century French Modern More Desk Accessories
Rock Crystal, Bronze, Gold
20th Century Italian Modern More Desk Accessories
Silver Plate
Late 20th Century Modern More Desk Accessories
Brass, Chrome
Late 20th Century Italian Modern More Desk Accessories
Silver, Sterling Silver
Late 20th Century Modern More Desk Accessories
Acrylic, Ceramic
20th Century Modern More Desk Accessories
Rock Crystal
1980s American Vintage Modern More Desk Accessories
Rock Crystal
1990s French Modern More Desk Accessories
Silver Plate, Bronze
Mid-20th Century American Modern More Desk Accessories
Metal
1970s French Vintage Modern More Desk Accessories
Nickel, Stainless Steel, Chrome
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern More Desk Accessories
Murano Glass
20th Century French Modern More Desk Accessories
Crystal
1970s Swiss Vintage Modern More Desk Accessories
Gold
Late 20th Century Modern More Desk Accessories
Crystal
Mid-20th Century American Modern More Desk Accessories
Metal
1990s Spanish Modern More Desk Accessories
Chrome
Late 20th Century Italian Modern More Desk Accessories
Travertine, Marble
1970s Italian Vintage Modern More Desk Accessories
Alabaster, Marble
1970s Vintage Modern More Desk Accessories
Brass, Bronze
1970s American Vintage Modern More Desk Accessories
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern More Desk Accessories
Marble
Late 20th Century Italian Modern More Desk Accessories
Lucite
20th Century French Modern More Desk Accessories
Crystal
20th Century French Modern More Desk Accessories
Crystal
20th Century Italian Modern More Desk Accessories
Crystal
1970s Vintage Modern More Desk Accessories
Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern More Desk Accessories
Marble, Enamel, Wire
Mid-20th Century Korean Modern More Desk Accessories
Brass
1960s Czech Vintage Modern More Desk Accessories
Silver
Late 20th Century German Modern More Desk Accessories
Porcelain
Late 20th Century Modern More Desk Accessories
Art Glass, Blown Glass
1980s American Vintage Modern More Desk Accessories
Chrome
Late 20th Century Modern More Desk Accessories
Marble
Late 20th Century Italian Modern More Desk Accessories
Lucite
Late 20th Century Modern More Desk Accessories
Malachite, Onyx
Late 20th Century Modern More Desk Accessories
Stone, Chrome
Late 20th Century French Modern More Desk Accessories
Porcelain
Early 20th Century English Modern More Desk Accessories
Burl
1970s Italian Vintage Modern More Desk Accessories
Marble
1980s American Vintage Modern More Desk Accessories
Glass
1980s American Vintage Modern More Desk Accessories
Horn, Mirror
1970s Vintage Modern More Desk Accessories
Onyx
1970s American Vintage Modern More Desk Accessories
Lucite
1980s Italian Vintage Modern More Desk Accessories
Stainless Steel, Iron
20th Century American Modern More Desk Accessories
Wrought Iron
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern More Desk Accessories
Plaster, Paper, Wood
Early 20th Century Japanese Modern More Desk Accessories
Porcelain
1980s American Vintage Modern More Desk Accessories
Brass, Chrome
1960s German Vintage Modern More Desk Accessories
Wood
1970s French Vintage Modern More Desk Accessories
Metal, Bronze
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern More Desk Accessories
Art Glass
1980s American Vintage Modern More Desk Accessories
Travertine, Brass
1970s Canadian Vintage Modern More Desk Accessories
Granite, Bronze
Mid-20th Century American Modern More Desk Accessories
Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern More Desk Accessories
Blown Glass
20th Century German Modern More Desk Accessories
Crystal
1970s Philippine Vintage Modern More Desk Accessories
Brass
20th Century French Modern More Desk Accessories
Ceramic