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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Stoneware
Late 20th Century German Modern Decorative Objects
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Glass
Early 2000s French Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Resin
2010s Scandinavian Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Aluminum
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Decorative Objects
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Leather
1960s French Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Fiberglass
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Marble
1990s European Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
2010s Vietnamese Modern Decorative Objects
Fiberglass
2010s Mexican Modern Decorative Objects
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Decorative Objects
Metal
Late 20th Century American Modern Decorative Objects
Crystal
2010s American Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Clay, Porcelain
Late 20th Century Modern Decorative Objects
Metal
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Objects
Porcelain, Pottery
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Decorative Objects
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Decorative Objects
Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Brass, Silver
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Decorative Objects
Steel
2010s Greek Modern Decorative Objects
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass
Late 20th Century Spanish Modern Decorative Objects
Bronze
1950s French Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Decorative Objects
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Enamel
2010s Malaysian Modern Decorative Objects
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Wood
20th Century American Modern Decorative Objects
Carrara Marble
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Glass
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Marble, Carrara Marble
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Glass, Art Glass, Cut Glass, Murano Glass
Early 2000s Israeli Modern Decorative Objects
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Glass, Cedar
Early 2000s French Modern Decorative Objects
Stone
1970s European Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
Modern decorative objects for sale on 1stDibs.
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