Modern 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s Portuguese Modern Desk Accessories
Marble, Carrara Marble
2010s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Concrete
2010s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Concrete
2010s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Suede, Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary Greek Modern Desk Accessories
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Concrete
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Desk Accessories
Ceramic, Stoneware, Terracotta
2010s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Leather, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Metal
Early 2000s German Modern Desk Accessories
Porcelain
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Gold, Sterling Silver, Enamel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Gold, Enamel, Sterling Silver
1980s European Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Desk Accessories
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Desk Accessories
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Desk Accessories
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Desk Accessories
Ceramic
1980s German Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Desk Accessories
Clay
1990s French Modern Desk Accessories
Leather, Alligator
1980s German Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Marble
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Desk Accessories
Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Desk Accessories
Plastic, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Walnut
20th Century Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Silver Plate
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Metal
Late 20th Century French Modern Desk Accessories
Crystal, Silver Plate
2010s English Modern Desk Accessories
Cement
Early 2000s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Crystal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Gold Plate
Early 2000s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Crystal, Brass
1970s Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Gold
Early 2000s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Crystal, Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Metal
Early 2000s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Metal
1990s English Modern Desk Accessories
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Desk Accessories
Ceramic
20th Century French Modern Desk Accessories
Porcelain
20th Century Modern Desk Accessories
2010s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Marble
Early 2000s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Plastic