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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Argentine Modern Desk Accessories
Stone, Onyx, Metal
2010s Greek Modern Desk Accessories
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Porcelain
2010s Indian Modern Desk Accessories
Brass
2010s French Modern Desk Accessories
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
PVC
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
PVC
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
PVC
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
PVC
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Stainless Steel
2010s Indian Modern Desk Accessories
Brass
2010s Indian Modern Desk Accessories
Brass
1990s American Modern Desk Accessories
Gold
2010s French Modern Desk Accessories
Brass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Silver, Sterling Silver
2010s Indian Modern Desk Accessories
Aluminum
2010s French Modern Desk Accessories
Brass
2010s Mexican Modern Desk Accessories
Marble
2010s Indian Modern Desk Accessories
Aluminum
2010s French Modern Desk Accessories
Brass
2010s Mexican Modern Desk Accessories
Marble
2010s Mexican Modern Desk Accessories
Resin
20th Century Mexican Modern Desk Accessories
Stone, Onyx
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Desk Accessories
Leather
Late 20th Century Scottish Modern Desk Accessories
Art Glass
1980s American Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Steel, Chrome
2010s Indian Modern Desk Accessories
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Desk Accessories
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Desk Accessories
Leather
2010s American Modern Desk Accessories
Brass
20th Century European Modern Desk Accessories
Carrara Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Aluminum
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Metal
2010s Indian Modern Desk Accessories
Aluminum
2010s Argentine Modern Desk Accessories
Onyx, Stone, Metal
2010s Argentine Modern Desk Accessories
Stone, Onyx, Metal
2010s Argentine Modern Desk Accessories
Stone, Onyx
2010s German Modern Desk Accessories
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Brass
2010s Australian Modern Desk Accessories
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Desk Accessories
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Desk Accessories
Leather
2010s Thai Modern Desk Accessories
Faux Leather
1970s Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Brass, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Resin
2010s Mexican Modern Desk Accessories
Resin
20th Century American Modern Desk Accessories
Brass, Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Desk Accessories
Clay
2010s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Concrete
2010s Danish Modern Desk Accessories
Cast Stone
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Desk Accessories
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Desk Accessories
Lucite
Late 20th Century Swedish Modern Desk Accessories
Glass
2010s Thai Modern Desk Accessories
Faux Leather