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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Late 20th Century Danish Modern Decorative Objects
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century French Modern Decorative Objects
Porcelain
2010s Malaysian Modern Decorative Objects
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Objects
Blown Glass
2010s American Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Crystal
Early 2000s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Silver
2010s American Modern Decorative Objects
Steel, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Objects
Amethyst, Rock Crystal
1990s German Modern Decorative Objects
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
Early 20th Century Danish Modern Decorative Objects
Plaster
2010s American Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Pottery, Wood, Hardwood, Ebony, Maple, Oak, Walnut, Cedar, Fir,...
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass, Murrine
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Gold, Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
2010s Malaysian Modern Decorative Objects
Copper
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Marble, Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Sterling Silver, Enamel
2010s French Modern Decorative Objects
Bronze
2010s Scandinavian Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Malaysian Modern Decorative Objects
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Resin
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Decorative Objects
Crystal, Brass
2010s Mexican Modern Decorative Objects
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Decorative Objects
Stainless Steel
20th Century English Modern Decorative Objects
Pottery, Glass
20th Century French Modern Decorative Objects
Bone, Faux Leather
Late 20th Century Modern Decorative Objects
Stone
20th Century American Modern Decorative Objects
Marble
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Sterling Silver
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Decorative Objects
Stainless Steel
2010s Japanese Modern Decorative Objects
Stone
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Glass
Early 2000s American Modern Decorative Objects
Reclaimed Wood, Paint
1970s Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Silver, Brass, Bronze
1970s Spanish Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
2010s German Modern Decorative Objects
Porcelain
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Marble, Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
2010s Japanese Modern Decorative Objects
Bronze
2010s Malaysian Modern Decorative Objects
Copper
2010s Spanish Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Sterling Silver, Enamel, Gold, Gold Plate
1990s Mexican Modern Decorative Objects
Malachite, Silver Plate, Copper
Late 20th Century American Modern Decorative Objects
Crystal
1990s European Modern Decorative Objects
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Gold Leaf
2010s American Modern Decorative Objects
Bronze, Enamel, Steel
1980s Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
2010s Scandinavian Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
2010s Mexican Modern Decorative Objects
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Other
Early 2000s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Decorative Objects
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
Modern decorative objects for sale on 1stDibs.
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