Modern Centerpieces
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s Italian Modern Centerpieces
Marble, Metal, Bronze
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Centerpieces
Gold
Early 2000s Italian Modern Centerpieces
Gold
2010s Italian Modern Centerpieces
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Centerpieces
Clay
1990s Italian Modern Centerpieces
Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Centerpieces
Brass
1930s Italian Vintage Modern Centerpieces
Art Glass
2010s Finnish Modern Centerpieces
Cement, Aluminum
2010s Finnish Modern Centerpieces
Cement, Aluminum
2010s Finnish Modern Centerpieces
Cement, Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Centerpieces
Ceramic, Majolica
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Centerpieces
Concrete
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Centerpieces
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Centerpieces
Terracotta
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Centerpieces
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass, Sommerso
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Centerpieces
Glass, Art Glass, Ribbon, Murano Glass, Blown Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Centerpieces
Silver Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Polish Modern Centerpieces
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Centerpieces
Hardwood, Wood, Walnut, Oak
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Centerpieces
Gold
2010s Italian Modern Centerpieces
Ceramic
20th Century American Modern Centerpieces
Bronze
2010s British Modern Centerpieces
Gold Plate, Stainless Steel
20th Century Italian Modern Centerpieces
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Centerpieces
Gold Leaf
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Centerpieces
24k Gold
Early 2000s Italian Modern Centerpieces
Gold