Modern Vases and Vessels
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1970s Vintage Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Vases and Vessels
Fiberglass
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
20th Century Nicaraguan Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic, Pottery
2010s Ukrainian Modern Vases and Vessels
Steel, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
Early 2000s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Murano Glass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Resin
Early 2000s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
Early 2000s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
Early 2000s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
Early 2000s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
1970s French Vintage Modern Vases and Vessels
Silver Plate
Late 20th Century North American Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
2010s Moroccan Modern Vases and Vessels
Other
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Vases and Vessels
Stoneware
1930s Italian Vintage Modern Vases and Vessels
Glass
20th Century European Modern Vases and Vessels
Metal
20th Century American Modern Vases and Vessels
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Modern Vases and Vessels
Wood, Oak
2010s Spanish Modern Vases and Vessels
Stoneware
1930s Italian Vintage Modern Vases and Vessels
Glass
2010s Malaysian Modern Vases and Vessels
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Vases and Vessels
Copper
2010s Ukrainian Modern Vases and Vessels
Glass, Epoxy Resin
2010s Ukrainian Modern Vases and Vessels
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Terracotta
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Vases and Vessels
Stoneware
2010s German Modern Vases and Vessels
Aluminum
2010s Chinese Modern Vases and Vessels
Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Travertine
2010s English Modern Vases and Vessels
Other
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Vases and Vessels
Art Glass
2010s French Modern Vases and Vessels
Bronze
2010s Spanish Modern Vases and Vessels
Enamel
Early 2000s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
Early 2000s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
1990s Hungarian Modern Vases and Vessels
Glass
20th Century Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Vases and Vessels
Fiberglass
2010s American Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic, Clay, Porcelain
2010s British Modern Vases and Vessels
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass
2010s Moroccan Modern Vases and Vessels
Other
Late 20th Century English Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
2010s Swedish Modern Vases and Vessels
Glass
2010s Spanish Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
2010s French Modern Vases and Vessels
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Modern Vases and Vessels
Wood
2010s British Modern Vases and Vessels
Clay
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
2010s Spanish Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Vases and Vessels
Murano Glass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Vases and Vessels
Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Fiberglass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Vases and Vessels
Crystal
1990s American Modern Vases and Vessels
Aluminum