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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 French Modern Decorative Objects
Bronze
Early 2000s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Sommerso
20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass
1940s American Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Decorative Objects
Marble, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass
Early 2000s European Modern Decorative Objects
Bronze
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Aluminum
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Silver Plate, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
Late 20th Century Israeli Modern Decorative Objects
Lucite
2010s Argentine Modern Decorative Objects
Metal
2010s South African Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
20th Century French Modern Decorative Objects
Malachite, Bronze
1940s American Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Porcelain
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Rosewood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
2010s Czech Modern Decorative Objects
Porcelain
1970s American Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Glass, Lucite
Mid-20th Century Modern Decorative Objects
Copper
1980s French Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Decorative Objects
Metal
2010s German Modern Decorative Objects
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
2010s Czech Modern Decorative Objects
Blown Glass
1970s German Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Clay
2010s American Modern Decorative Objects
Metal
1990s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
2010s German Modern Decorative Objects
Porcelain
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Carrara Marble
20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Sterling Silver
1970s Austrian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Bronze
2010s American Modern Decorative Objects
Bronze
20th Century American Modern Decorative Objects
Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Malachite
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Plastic
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass
1990s French Modern Decorative Objects
Aluminum, Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Decorative Objects
Steel, Iron
1980s English Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Porcelain
20th Century French Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Decorative Objects
Cement
Mid-20th Century Brazilian Modern Decorative Objects
Animal Skin
Late 20th Century Philippine Modern Decorative Objects
Stone
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Spanish Modern Decorative Objects
Brass, Steel
2010s Modern Decorative Objects
Wood, Teak, Reclaimed Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Decorative Objects
Cement
1980s French Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass, Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
20th Century American Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Decorative Objects
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Decorative Objects
Cement
2010s British Modern Decorative Objects
Carrara Marble
Modern decorative objects for sale on 1stDibs.
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