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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s Malaysian Modern Vases and Vessels
Copper
Early 2000s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
2010s Malaysian Modern Vases and Vessels
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Murano Glass
20th Century Ecuadorean Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Malaysian Modern Vases and Vessels
Copper
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Vases and Vessels
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Glass
1970s Polish Vintage Modern Vases and Vessels
Glass
1970s German Vintage Modern Vases and Vessels
Cut Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Gold Leaf
1950s French Vintage Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Vases and Vessels
Clay
2010s French Modern Vases and Vessels
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Vases and Vessels
Brass, Nickel
2010s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Vases and Vessels
Murano Glass
20th Century Swedish Modern Vases and Vessels
Glass
1990s French Modern Vases and Vessels
Brass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Plexiglass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Concrete, Cement
Early 20th Century Danish Modern Vases and Vessels
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Murano Glass
2010s German Modern Vases and Vessels
Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Vases and Vessels
Brass
2010s Danish Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Murano Glass
20th Century Swedish Modern Vases and Vessels
Crystal
1970s Swedish Vintage Modern Vases and Vessels
Glass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Marble, Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Vases and Vessels
Earthenware
1960s French Vintage Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
2010s Malaysian Modern Vases and Vessels
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Metal
1970s German Vintage Modern Vases and Vessels
Stoneware
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Murano Glass, Murrine
2010s North Korean Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic, Resin, PVC
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Vases and Vessels
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Marble
20th Century Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Blown Glass
2010s Asian Modern Vases and Vessels
Limestone
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Vases and Vessels
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Marble
2010s French Modern Vases and Vessels
Bronze
1980s German Vintage Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
Early 2000s American Modern Vases and Vessels
Glass, Art Glass