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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Late 20th Century Modern Desk Accessories
Brass, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Crystal, Gold, Brass
2010s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Plastic
1970s American Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Bronze, Other
1970s Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Onyx
Mid-20th Century American Modern Desk Accessories
Acrylic, Lucite
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Desk Accessories
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Desk Accessories
Metal, Enamel
2010s Argentine Modern Desk Accessories
Stone, Onyx, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Desk Accessories
Leather
1980s Unknown Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Desk Accessories
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Desk Accessories
Leather
2010s Sicilian Modern Desk Accessories
Terracotta
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Art Glass
2010s American Modern Desk Accessories
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Porcelain
2010s Argentine Modern Desk Accessories
Stone, Onyx
2010s Argentine Modern Desk Accessories
Stone, Onyx, Metal
2010s American Modern Desk Accessories
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
2010s Mexican Modern Desk Accessories
Resin
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Marble
Late 20th Century Modern Desk Accessories
Art Glass
2010s North Korean Modern Desk Accessories
Shell
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Desk Accessories
Leather
Late 20th Century Modern Desk Accessories
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Desk Accessories
Leather
1980s American Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Stone
Late 20th Century Canadian Modern Desk Accessories
Art Glass
2010s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Marble
20th Century North American Modern Desk Accessories
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Desk Accessories
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Marble
20th Century Scottish Modern Desk Accessories
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Wood
2010s Argentine Modern Desk Accessories
Stone, Onyx
1990s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Sterling Silver, Enamel
Mid-20th Century American Modern Desk Accessories
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Brass
20th Century American Modern Desk Accessories
Crystal
1980s German Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Brass
1970s Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Agate, Onyx, Brass
2010s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Leather, Suede
2010s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Quartz, Agate, Brass
Late 20th Century American Modern Desk Accessories
Lucite
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Copper
2010s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Concrete
2010s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Concrete
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Desk Accessories
Leather
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Desk Accessories
Leather
2010s North Korean Modern Desk Accessories
Shell, Eggshell
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Plaster, Paper, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Desk Accessories
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Desk Accessories
Leather
1950s Austrian Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Bronze
2010s North Korean Modern Desk Accessories
Shell
2010s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Concrete