Modern Jars
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Ukrainian Modern Jars
Steel, Brass
2010s Ukrainian Modern Jars
Copper, Steel
2010s Ukrainian Modern Jars
Copper, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Jars
Ceramic
2010s Hong Kong Modern Jars
Stone, Steel
2010s Swedish Modern Jars
Tin
2010s Dutch Modern Jars
Paper
2010s Italian Modern Jars
Iron, Nickel
2010s Mexican Modern Jars
Stoneware
2010s Italian Modern Jars
Iron
2010s Austrian Modern Jars
Concrete, Steel
2010s Italian Modern Jars
Fiberglass
2010s Brazilian Modern Jars
Soapstone
2010s European Modern Jars
Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Jars
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Jars
Iron
2010s Czech Modern Jars
Ceramic, Porcelain
2010s Czech Modern Jars
Ceramic, Porcelain
2010s Swedish Modern Jars
Tin
2010s German Modern Jars
Ceramic, Natural Fiber
2010s Italian Modern Jars
Iron, Nickel
2010s Chinese Modern Jars
Fiberglass
2010s Brazilian Modern Jars
Soapstone
2010s Italian Modern Jars
Iron
2010s Italian Modern Jars
Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Jars
Iron
2010s Italian Modern Jars
Iron
2010s Italian Modern Jars
Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Jars
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Jars
Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Jars
Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Jars
Fiberglass
2010s Brazilian Modern Jars
Soapstone
2010s Italian Modern Jars
Iron
2010s Danish Modern Jars
Metal
2010s Chinese Modern Jars
Fiberglass
2010s Brazilian Modern Jars
Soapstone
2010s Mexican Modern Jars
Stoneware
2010s Mexican Modern Jars
Stoneware
2010s Italian Modern Jars
Iron
2010s Italian Modern Jars
Fiberglass
2010s Mexican Modern Jars
Stoneware
2010s American Modern Jars
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Jars
Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Jars
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Jars
Gold Leaf
1990s American Modern Jars
Copper
2010s Italian Modern Jars
Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Jars
Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Jars
Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Jars
Fiberglass
2010s Mexican Modern Jars
Stoneware
2010s Italian Modern Jars
Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Jars
Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Jars
Marble
2010s Danish Modern Jars
Metal
2010s Mexican Modern Jars
Stoneware
2010s Mexican Modern Jars
Stoneware