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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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
Clay
2010s European Modern Decorative Objects
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Gold
2010s German Modern Decorative Objects
Clay
1990s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
2010s South American Modern Decorative Objects
Onyx, Stone, Metal
2010s Danish Modern Decorative Objects
Other
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Terracotta
Late 20th Century Modern Decorative Objects
Glass
2010s German Modern Decorative Objects
Clay
1970s German Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Objects
Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Marble, Travertine
2010s Argentine Modern Decorative Objects
Onyx, Stone, Metal
2010s Mexican Modern Decorative Objects
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Gold
1990s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
2010s Danish Modern Decorative Objects
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Willow
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Travertine, Marble
2010s Argentine Modern Decorative Objects
Stone, Onyx, Metal
Late 20th Century Modern Decorative Objects
Wood
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Decorative Objects
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary South American Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
1990s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Gold
2010s Indian Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Glass
1990s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1970s French Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Nickel
2010s Danish Modern Decorative Objects
Granite, Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Stone, Nickel
20th Century British Modern Decorative Objects
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Travertine, Marble
Late 20th Century Modern Decorative Objects
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
2010s German Modern Decorative Objects
Clay
20th Century Modern Decorative Objects
Bone, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Decorative Objects
Clay
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Travertine, Marble
2010s American Modern Decorative Objects
Clay, Porcelain, Ceramic
2010s Danish Modern Decorative Objects
Other
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
20th Century English Modern Decorative Objects
Porcelain
2010s Spanish Modern Decorative Objects
Stone, Slate
1990s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Aluminum
2010s Spanish Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
2010s South American Modern Decorative Objects
Onyx, Stone, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Gold Plate
2010s Argentine Modern Decorative Objects
Stone, Onyx
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Nickel
1960s Swedish Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Stoneware
2010s German Modern Decorative Objects
Clay
Modern decorative objects for sale on 1stDibs.
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