Modern Decorative Objects
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 German Modern Decorative Objects
Wood, Paint
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass
2010s Malaysian Modern Decorative Objects
Copper
1990s British Modern Decorative Objects
Cut Glass
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Decorative Objects
Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Gold Leaf
Late 20th Century Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass
20th Century French Modern Decorative Objects
Crystal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Decorative Objects
Porcelain
Early 2000s French Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass
Late 20th Century German Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
2010s Argentine Modern Decorative Objects
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
20th Century American Modern Decorative Objects
Resin
20th Century Modern Decorative Objects
Crystal
1970s American Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Aluminum
2010s Argentine Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Clay, Pottery, Stoneware
Late 20th Century American Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Wood
2010s French Modern Decorative Objects
Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century French Modern Decorative Objects
Steel
2010s Peruvian Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1990s Hungarian Modern Decorative Objects
Porcelain
1950s French Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
20th Century Scandinavian Modern Decorative Objects
Granite
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Decorative Objects
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
2010s American Modern Decorative Objects
Steel, Iron
1990s French Modern Decorative Objects
Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Decorative Objects
Earthenware
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Decorative Objects
Porcelain, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Chrome
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Glass
1990s French Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
Late 20th Century American Modern Decorative Objects
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Decorative Objects
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
2010s Vietnamese Modern Decorative Objects
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Gold Plate
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Decorative Objects
Bronze
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Blown Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Epoxy Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Majolica
Early 2000s German Modern Decorative Objects
Porcelain
2010s Scandinavian Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
1980s German Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
2010s Turkish Modern Decorative Objects
Glass
Modern decorative objects for sale on 1stDibs.
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