Mid-Century Modern Vases

MID-CENTURY MODERN STYLE

Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage mid-century modern 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.

ORIGINS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

Emerged during the mid-20th century
Informed by European modernism, Bauhaus, International style, Scandinavian modernism and Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture
A heyday of innovation in postwar America
Experimentation with new ideas, new materials and new forms flourished in Scandinavia, Italy, the former Czechoslovakia and elsewhere in Europe

CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

Simplicity, organic forms, clean lines
A blend of neutral and bold Pop art colors
Use of natural and man-made materials — alluring woods such as teak, rosewood and oak; steel, fiberglass and molded plywood
Light-filled spaces with colorful upholstery
Glass walls and an emphasis on the outdoors
Promotion of functionality

MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW

Charles and Ray Eames
Eero Saarinen
Milo Baughman
Florence Knoll
Harry Bertoia
Isamu Noguchi
George Nelson
Danish modernists Hans Wegner and Arne Jacobsen, whose emphasis on natural materials and craftsmanship influenced American designers and vice versa

ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS

VINTAGE MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS

The mid-century modern era saw leagues of postwar American architects and designers animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist International-style architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the 1930s 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 pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair, respectively.

Architect, writer and designer George Nelson created with his team shades for the Bubble lamp using a new translucent polymer skin and, as design director at Herman Miller, recruited the Eameses, Alexander Girard and others for projects at the legendary Michigan furniture manufacturer.

Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were repurposed too: The Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs using surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.

The Risom lounge chair was among the first pieces of furniture commissioned and produced by legendary manufacturer Knoll, a chief influencer in the rise of modern design in the United States, thanks to the work of Florence Knoll, the pioneering architect and designer who made the firm a leader in its field. The seating that Knoll created for office spaces — as well as pieces designed by Florence initially for commercial clients — soon became desirable for the home.

As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century furniture 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, blond wood furniture, and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in minimalist teak dining tables and lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.

As the collection of vintage mid-century modern chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture for the living room, dining room, bedroom and elsewhere on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.

Style: Mid-Century Modern

Creator: Archimede Seguso

Seguso Murano 1950s Coral Red Gold Flecks Italian Art Glass Flower Basket Vase

Mid-Century Modern Vases

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases

Seguso Murano 1950s Coral Red Gold Flecks Italian Art Glass Flower Basket Vase

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases

1950 Archimede Seguso Scavo Peach Color Frosted Vase Italy Seguso Vetri d'Arte

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases

1970 Archimede Seguso Scavo Yellow Frosted Bowl Italy White Seguso Vetri d'Arte

1980s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases

Tall Archimede Seguso Scavo Bianco Flower Vase Italy White & Mint Green Handles

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases

Archimede Seguso Sommerso Basket in Green and Amber, Murano Italy ca. 1950s

Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases

Large Carnevale Vase by Vetreria Archimede Seguso ca. 1980s

Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases

Vintage Incalmo Vase by Vetreria Archimede Seguso 1972

Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases

Art Glass Vase by Gianni Versage for Vetreria Archimede Seguso ca. 1990s

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases

Italian Scavo Murano Glass Vase by Seguso Vetri d’Arte

20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases

Archimedes Seguso imperial unique and rare lattimo glass vase. 1955-1960

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases

Archimede Seguso Murano glass "sfumato oro retorto" 1950 tricolor vase.

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases

Large Archimede Seguso Murano glass "Costolato oro" green vase circa 1950.

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases

Archimede Seguso Murano Glass 1950 rubino oro "Retorto a coste" vase.

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases

Large Archimede Seguso Murano glass "Opalino retorto" green vase circa 1950

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases

Large Archimede Seguso Murano glass "Costolato oro" blue vase circa 1950.

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases

Large Archimede Seguso Murano triple glass with "Coralo" vase circa 1950.

1940s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases

Large Archimede Seguso Murano glass "A cordone oro" red ribs vase circa 1949.

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases

Archimede Seguso "costolato opalino oro" circa 1950 vase with fruits applied.

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases

Archimede Seguso "Retorto costolato opalino oro" circa 1950 Murano glass vase.

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases

Archimede Seguso Murano glass green cornucopia in costolato oro circa 1950.

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases

Archimede Seguso "costolato oro coronatto" circa 1950 pink vase

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases

Archimede Seguso "costolato oro coronatto" circa 1950 blue vase

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases

Archimede Seguso Murano glass 'Macchia ambra verde furato' circa 1950 vase.

1940s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases

Archimede Seguso. Mid-Century Modern Red Murano Glass

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases

Archimede Seguso Murano glass "Macchia ambra verde" with gold 1952 vase.

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases

Archimede Seguso blue Murano glass "Costolato oro" circa 1950 vase.

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases

Archimede Seguso italian red and gold Murano Glass vase circa 1950.

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases

Archimede Seguso Murano Signed Black Red Swirl Italian Art Glass Flower Vase

Early 19th Century Italian Antique Mid-Century Modern Vases

Salviati Murano Venetian Hand Blown Gold Dolphin Caraffe

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases

Archimede Seguso Signed Bowl, Green Glass with Iridescence, Serenella 18 Green

20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases

Italian Murano Achimede Seguso Emerald Green Fluted Vase or Glass Vessel

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases

Flavio Poli Soliflor Teardrob Vase Archimede Seguso Murano Studio Art Glass

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases

Seguso Murano Red Orange Gold Flecks Italian Art Glass Double Mouth Flower Vase

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases

Archimede Seguso Murano Appliqué Glass Vase Blue and Green Swirl

Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases

Archimede Seguso Murano Red Bands Gold Flecks Italian Art Glass Flower Vase

20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases

Rare Large Art Glass Scalloped Vintage Cobalt Blue Seguso Vase Murano, Italy

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases

Archimede Seguso Glass Vase Silver Flecks Murano Italy 1970s

20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases

Archimede Seguso Green Murano Glass Pulegoso Ovoid Vase, 1950s

1940s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases

Archimede Seguso Large Murano Glass Vase

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Vases