Modern Vases
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Early 2000s American Modern Vases
Art Glass
2010s French Modern Vases
Sandstone
1980s American Vintage Modern Vases
Blown Glass
1960s French Vintage Modern Vases
Ceramic
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Modern Vases
Terracotta
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Vases
Terracotta
Late 20th Century English Modern Vases
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Vases
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Philippine Modern Vases
Bamboo
1970s American Vintage Modern Vases
Wood
1960s Vintage Modern Vases
Ceramic, Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Vases
Paper
2010s American Modern Vases
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Modern Vases
Glass
1970s American Vintage Modern Vases
Metal
20th Century English Modern Vases
Pottery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Brass, Enamel
2010s Austrian Modern Vases
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Vases
Ceramic
1980s Vintage Modern Vases
Pottery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Vases
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Vases
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Marble
2010s Modern Vases
Copper
2010s French Modern Vases
Stoneware
2010s Modern Vases
Copper
1990s Dutch Modern Vases
Plexiglass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Vases
Murano Glass
1990s Italian Modern Vases
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Resin
Early 2000s Italian Modern Vases
Art Glass, Blown Glass
20th Century French Modern Vases
Majolica
2010s Modern Vases
Copper
2010s Mexican Modern Vases
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Vases
Ceramic
2010s English Modern Vases
Other
2010s Turkish Modern Vases
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Malaysian Modern Vases
Copper
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Vases
Stoneware
20th Century English Modern Vases
Pottery
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Ceramic
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Vases
Glass
1990s European Modern Vases
Glass, Wood
2010s Dutch Modern Vases
Ceramic, Earthenware
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Vases
Ceramic
2010s Turkish Modern Vases
Marble
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Vases
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Iron
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Iron
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Vases
Ceramic
2010s Mexican Modern Vases
Stoneware
20th Century English Modern Vases
Stoneware
20th Century English Modern Vases
Stoneware
Late 20th Century American Modern Vases
Marble, Brass
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Iron
2010s English Modern Vases
Other