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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Clay, Terracotta
20th Century American Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Onyx
1980s American Vintage Modern Vases and Vessels
Steel
Early 2000s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Resin
20th Century Japanese Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century German Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Marble, Travertine
2010s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Murano Glass
1970s Swedish Vintage Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic, Porcelain, Clay
2010s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Aluminum
1980s German Vintage Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Vases and Vessels
Steel, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Concrete, Cement
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Vases and Vessels
Art Glass
2010s Malaysian Modern Vases and Vessels
Copper
2010s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Marble, Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Natural Fiber
2010s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Gold, Gold Plate
2010s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Marble
Late 20th Century American Modern Vases and Vessels
Pottery
2010s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Marble
2010s Malaysian Modern Vases and Vessels
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Indonesian Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Concrete, Cement
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Silver Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Glass
Late 20th Century Canadian Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
1980s Scottish Vintage Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
1970s Swedish Vintage Modern Vases and Vessels
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Marble
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Vases and Vessels
Murano Glass
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Porcelain
Late 20th Century American Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Vases and Vessels
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Vases and Vessels
Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Marble, Travertine
2010s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Marble, Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Vases and Vessels
Art Glass
Late 20th Century Canadian Modern Vases and Vessels
Ceramic
Early 2000s American Modern Vases and Vessels
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Acrylic
2010s Italian Modern Vases and Vessels
Marble, Travertine
Early 2000s English Modern Vases and Vessels
Stoneware