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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1960s German Vintage Modern Vases
Crystal
20th Century American Modern Vases
Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Vases
Bronze
1990s European Modern Vases
Glass, Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Vases
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century American Modern Vases
Pottery
20th Century American Modern Vases
Ceramic
1990s European Modern Vases
Brass
Mid-20th Century Swedish Modern Vases
Stoneware
20th Century American Modern Vases
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Vases
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Finnish Modern Vases
Ceramic
20th Century French Modern Vases
Crystal
20th Century Modern Vases
Crystal
1980s Danish Vintage Modern Vases
Ceramic
20th Century English Modern Vases
Stoneware
20th Century American Modern Vases
Aluminum
Late 20th Century American Modern Vases
Marble, Brass
20th Century Italian Modern Vases
Gold
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Vases
Art Glass
20th Century American Modern Vases
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Hungarian Modern Vases
Porcelain
20th Century American Modern Vases
Ceramic
1990s European Modern Vases
Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Vases
Murano Glass
Late 20th Century American Modern Vases
Art Glass, Glass
1990s Italian Modern Vases
Murano Glass
1990s Swedish Modern Vases
Blown Glass
Late 20th Century American Modern Vases
Ceramic
1990s Italian Modern Vases
Art Glass
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Vases
Terracotta
Late 20th Century French Modern Vases
Stoneware
Mid-20th Century Swiss Modern Vases
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century French Modern Vases
Art Glass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Vases
Glass
1980s Vintage Modern Vases
Stone, Brass
1990s Italian Modern Vases
Art Glass
20th Century French Modern Vases
Crystal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Vases
Ceramic
1920s Swedish Vintage Modern Vases
Earthenware
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Vases
Terracotta
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Vases
Ceramic
20th Century American Modern Vases
Ceramic
20th Century Italian Modern Vases
Terracotta
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Vases
Murano Glass
1990s European Modern Vases
Brass
1990s European Modern Vases
Wood
1970s Swedish Vintage Modern Vases
Stoneware
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Vases
Ceramic
1980s Danish Vintage Modern Vases
Porcelain
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Vases
Murano Glass
1970s Swedish Vintage Modern Vases
Stoneware
1980s Scottish Vintage Modern Vases
Ceramic
1970s Swedish Vintage Modern Vases
Stoneware
Late 20th Century American Modern Vases
Ceramic
1970s Swedish Vintage Modern Vases
Stoneware
1990s European Modern Vases
Brass
1990s European Modern Vases
Aluminum