Modern Natural Specimens
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Mid-20th Century German Modern Natural Specimens
Multi-gemstone
2010s Italian Modern Natural Specimens
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Natural Specimens
Resin, Epoxy Resin
2010s American Modern Natural Specimens
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Natural Specimens
Resin
1980s Malagasy Vintage Modern Natural Specimens
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Natural Specimens
Wire
2010s Italian Modern Natural Specimens
Crystal
2010s Italian Modern Natural Specimens
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Moroccan Modern Natural Specimens
Rock Crystal
2010s American Modern Natural Specimens
Quartz
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Modern Natural Specimens
Sandstone
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Natural Specimens
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Natural Specimens
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Natural Specimens
Quartz
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Natural Specimens
Wire
1980s French Vintage Modern Natural Specimens
Rock Crystal, Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Natural Specimens
Murano Glass, Art Glass
20th Century Modern Natural Specimens
Metal
2010s American Modern Natural Specimens
Amethyst, Tourmaline, Quartz
Late 20th Century Swedish Modern Natural Specimens
Crystal
19th Century Unknown Antique Modern Natural Specimens
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Malagasy Modern Natural Specimens
Other
2010s Brazilian Modern Natural Specimens
Multi-gemstone, Quartz
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Natural Specimens
Murano Glass
1970s Vintage Modern Natural Specimens
Driftwood
2010s Italian Modern Natural Specimens
Wrought Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Uruguayan Modern Natural Specimens
Crystal, Quartz, Other
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Natural Specimens
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Cut Glass, Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Malagasy Modern Natural Specimens
Crystal, Other
20th Century American Modern Natural Specimens
Amethyst
20th Century Swiss Modern Natural Specimens
Siena Marble, Belgian Black Marble, Onyx, Malachite, Lapis Lazuli, Agate
20th Century Italian Modern Natural Specimens
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Natural Specimens
Crystal, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Natural Specimens
Crystal, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Natural Specimens
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Natural Specimens
Agate, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Natural Specimens
Crystal, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Natural Specimens
Crystal, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Natural Specimens
Crystal, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Moroccan Modern Natural Specimens
Rock Crystal
Late 20th Century American Modern Natural Specimens
Onyx, Metal