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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Vases
Crystal, Marble
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Vases
Ceramic
2010s French Modern Vases
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Leather, Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Leather, Glass
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Cement
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Vases
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Murano Glass
1990s Maltese Modern Vases
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Luster
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Vases
Art Glass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Vases
Art Glass
2010s German Modern Vases
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Vases
Ceramic
1990s Italian Modern Vases
Art Glass
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Murano Glass
2010s Malaysian Modern Vases
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Ceramic, Majolica
21st Century and Contemporary Malaysian Modern Vases
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Malaysian Modern Vases
Copper
2010s Argentine Modern Vases
Ceramic, Pottery, Clay
2010s Argentine Modern Vases
Ceramic, Pottery, Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Vases
Ceramic
2010s Dutch Modern Vases
Marble
2010s Dutch Modern Vases
Marble
2010s Dutch Modern Vases
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Vases
Stoneware
2010s Palestinian Modern Vases
Blown Glass
20th Century Italian Modern Vases
Glass
2010s Argentine Modern Vases
Ceramic, Pottery, Clay
2010s Argentine Modern Vases
Ceramic, Pottery, Clay
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Polyester, Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Art Glass
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Vases
Porcelain
2010s American Modern Vases
Brass
2010s American Modern Vases
Brass
20th Century French Modern Vases
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Art Glass, Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Vases
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Vases
Wood, Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Onyx
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Vases
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Vases
Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Vases
Marble, Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Vases
Ceramic, Porcelain, Stoneware