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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Italian Modern Vases
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Vases
Ceramic
2010s Dutch Modern Vases
Ceramic, Earthenware
Late 20th Century American Modern Vases
Art Glass
2010s Chinese Modern Vases
Porcelain
1980s European Vintage Modern Vases
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Murano Glass
2010s French Modern Vases
Chestnut
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Terracotta
Late 20th Century Modern Vases
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Vases
Bronze
2010s European Modern Vases
Ceramic, Abalone, Porcelain, Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Gold Leaf
20th Century American Modern Vases
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Ceramic
1950s American Vintage Modern Vases
Stoneware
1960s Indian Vintage Modern Vases
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Ceramic, Majolica
2010s Argentine Modern Vases
Stone, Onyx, Metal
2010s Argentine Modern Vases
Metal
1980s American Vintage Modern Vases
Ceramic
1960s Finnish Vintage Modern Vases
Art Glass
2010s Dutch Modern Vases
Paper
2010s American Modern Vases
Glass
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Vases
Pottery, Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Glass
2010s Spanish Modern Vases
Luster, Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Terracotta
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Ceramic, Clay, Majolica
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Murano Glass
1990s Swedish Modern Vases
Art Glass
2010s American Modern Vases
Steel, Iron
Late 20th Century American Modern Vases
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Vases
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Crystal
20th Century Modern Vases
Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Vases
Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Murano Glass
2010s American Modern Vases
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Vases
Terracotta
20th Century Modern Vases
Metal
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Vases
Glass, Murano Glass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Vases
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Murano Glass
1990s German Modern Vases
Lucite, Plexiglass
2010s Moroccan Modern Vases
Other
1970s British Vintage Modern Vases
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Vases
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Vases
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Vases
Glass
2010s Polish Modern Vases
Porcelain
1990s Italian Modern Vases
Murano Glass
1950s Finnish Vintage Modern Vases
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Vases
Earthenware