Mid-Century Modern Vases
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe mid-century modern American furniture. The style, which emerged primarily in the years following World War II, is characterized by pieces that were conceived and made in an energetic, optimistic spirit by creators who believed that good design was an essential part of good living.
Postwar American architects and designers were animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist “International Style” architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the ’30s by Philip Johnson and others. New building techniques, such as “post-and-beam” construction, allowed the International-style schemes to be realized on a small scale, in open-plan houses with long walls of glass.
Materials developed for wartime use became available for domestic goods and were incorporated into mid-century modern furniture designs. Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, who had experimented extensively with molded plywood, eagerly embraced fiberglass for, respectively, pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair. George Nelson and his design team created Bubble lamp shades using a new translucent polymer skin. Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were re-purposed: the Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs that used surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.
As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century designers caught the spirit.
Classically-oriented creators such as Edward Wormley, house designer for Dunbar Inc., offered such pieces as the sinuous Listen to Me chaise; the British expatriate T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings switched gears, creating items such as the tiered, biomorphic Mesa table. There were Young Turks such as Paul McCobb — who designed holistic groups of sleek, blonde-wood furniture — and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.
As the collection of vintage mid-century modern American furniture on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
1940s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Earthenware
1970s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Ceramic, Porcelain
1960s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Stoneware
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Ceramic
1960s Czech Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Art Glass
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Art Glass
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Blown Glass
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Earthenware
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Ceramic
1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Teak
Mid-20th Century Belgian Mid-Century Modern Vases
Crystal
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Ceramic
1960s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass
1960s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Stoneware
Mid-20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Vases
Ceramic
1960s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Stoneware
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Vases
Blown Glass
1960s British Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Blown Glass
Mid-20th Century Mexican Mid-Century Modern Vases
Brass, Copper, Stainless Steel
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Vases
Copper
1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Porcelain
1970s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Vases
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Vases
Brass
1950s Czech Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Crystal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Vases
Art Glass
1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Porcelain
1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Art Glass
1940s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Vases
Brass
Mid-20th Century Unknown Mid-Century Modern Vases
Metal, Silver Plate
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Gold Leaf
1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Ceramic
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Gold Leaf
1960s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Vases
Brass
Mid-20th Century Czech Mid-Century Modern Vases
Art Glass
Mid-20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Vases
Glass
1960s Polish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Crystal
1970s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases
Murano Glass
Mid-20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Vases
Clay, Pottery
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Vases
Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Ceramic
1950s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Blown Glass
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Art Glass
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Murano Glass
1970s Polish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Crystal
1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Porcelain
1980s Polish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Stoneware
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Ceramic
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Bamboo, Cane, Rattan
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Metal, Silver Plate
1960s Czech Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Art Glass
1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases
Glass, Art Glass, Murano Glass