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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1980s Spanish Vintage Modern Natural Specimens
Bronze
1990s American Modern Natural Specimens
Crystal
Late 20th Century Modern Natural Specimens
Marble
1980s Vintage Modern Natural Specimens
Carrara Marble
1990s Dutch Modern Natural Specimens
Bronze
Late 20th Century American Modern Natural Specimens
Bronze
Late 20th Century American Modern Natural Specimens
Marble, Chrome
1990s Brazilian Modern Natural Specimens
Eggshell, Glass, Wood, Lizard
1980s Unknown Vintage Modern Natural Specimens
Stone
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Natural Specimens
Glass, Murano Glass, Cut Glass, Blown Glass, Art Glass
1980s American Vintage Modern Natural Specimens
Horn, Mirror
1980s Malagasy Vintage Modern Natural Specimens
Crystal
Late 20th Century Brazilian Modern Natural Specimens
Rock Crystal, Wrought Iron
1970s American Vintage Modern Natural Specimens
Brass
1980s Japanese Vintage Modern Natural Specimens
Wood
Late 20th Century Spanish Modern Natural Specimens
Rubber
1970s American Vintage Modern Natural Specimens
Steel
1980s French Vintage Modern Natural Specimens
Rock Crystal, Silver
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Natural Specimens
Shell
2010s Chinese Modern Natural Specimens
Rock Crystal
1850s English Antique Modern Natural Specimens
Statuary Marble
1960s Korean Vintage Modern Natural Specimens
Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Natural Specimens
Bronze
Late 19th Century French Antique Modern Natural Specimens
Bronze
Early 2000s Italian Modern Natural Specimens
Carrara Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Pacific Islands Modern Natural Specimens
Other
20th Century Romanian Modern Natural Specimens
Marble
Late 20th Century American Modern Natural Specimens
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Natural Specimens
Shell
1980s French Vintage Modern Natural Specimens
Glass, Wood
1980s American Vintage Modern Natural Specimens
Brass
1980s American Vintage Modern Natural Specimens
Travertine, Marble, Metal, Brass
Late 20th Century European Modern Natural Specimens
Malachite
1970s American Vintage Modern Natural Specimens
Marble, Bronze
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Natural Specimens
Ceramic
1980s Philippine Vintage Modern Natural Specimens
Stone
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Natural Specimens
Coral, Brass, Metal
Late 20th Century American Modern Natural Specimens
Metal, Brass
Late 20th Century Mexican Modern Natural Specimens
Stone
Late 20th Century American Modern Natural Specimens
Onyx, Metal
Late 20th Century American Modern Natural Specimens
Onyx, Metal
1970s European Vintage Modern Natural Specimens
Onyx