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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1970s Swiss Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Gold
1950s French Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Steel
1970s American Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Marble, Enamel, Wire
2010s Danish Modern Desk Accessories
Marble
2010s Brazilian Modern Desk Accessories
Bronze
20th Century French Modern Desk Accessories
Crystal
2010s Brazilian Modern Desk Accessories
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Brass
20th Century Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Porcelain
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Art Glass
2010s Australian Modern Desk Accessories
Marble
2010s Mexican Modern Desk Accessories
Resin
2010s French Modern Desk Accessories
Limestone, Brass
2010s French Modern Desk Accessories
Slate
1970s American Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Metal
20th Century Scottish Modern Desk Accessories
Blown Glass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Lucite
Late 20th Century German Modern Desk Accessories
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Concrete
20th Century Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Porcelain
Late 20th Century Modern Desk Accessories
Marble
2010s Australian Modern Desk Accessories
Marble
2010s Turkish Modern Desk Accessories
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Modern Desk Accessories
Malachite, Onyx
2010s Mexican Modern Desk Accessories
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Desk Accessories
Art Glass
2010s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Concrete
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Metal, Bronze
2010s Mexican Modern Desk Accessories
Resin
2010s Mexican Modern Desk Accessories
Resin
2010s Mexican Modern Desk Accessories
Resin
1970s American Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Desk Accessories
Crystal
Late 20th Century Modern Desk Accessories
Stone, Chrome
2010s Swedish Modern Desk Accessories
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Marble
2010s Argentine Modern Desk Accessories
Onyx, Stone, Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Desk Accessories
Marble, Gold Leaf
2010s Portuguese Modern Desk Accessories
Marble, Gold Leaf
2010s Portuguese Modern Desk Accessories
Marble, Gold Leaf
2010s Korean Modern Desk Accessories
Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Desk Accessories
Marble, Gold Leaf
2010s Portuguese Modern Desk Accessories
Marble, Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Desk Accessories
Marble, Gold Leaf
Early 2000s American Modern Desk Accessories
Metal, Steel
Late 20th Century German Modern Desk Accessories
Porcelain
2010s Mexican Modern Desk Accessories
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Marble
2010s Mexican Modern Desk Accessories
Resin
2010s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Concrete
20th Century Japanese Modern Desk Accessories
Crystal
2010s Mexican Modern Desk Accessories
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Gold, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Desk Accessories
Ceramic
2010s French Modern Desk Accessories
Silver