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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Centerpieces
Murano Glass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Centerpieces
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Centerpieces
Terracotta
20th Century Modern Centerpieces
Sterling Silver
20th Century Modern Centerpieces
Sterling Silver
20th Century Modern Centerpieces
Sterling Silver
20th Century Modern Centerpieces
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Centerpieces
Paper
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Centerpieces
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century Burmese Modern Centerpieces
Silver
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Centerpieces
Malachite, Silver
1960s Vintage Modern Centerpieces
Silver
20th Century Italian Modern Centerpieces
Sterling Silver
20th Century English Modern Centerpieces
Rock Crystal, Gold Plate, Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Centerpieces
Acrylic, Hardwood, Paint
Early 2000s Italian Modern Centerpieces
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Centerpieces
Brass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Centerpieces
Glass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Centerpieces
Glass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Centerpieces
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Centerpieces
Acrylic
2010s Italian Modern Centerpieces
Brass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Centerpieces
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Centerpieces
Glass
Early 2000s English Modern Centerpieces
Sterling Silver
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Centerpieces
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Centerpieces
Hardwood, Paint, Acrylic
2010s British Modern Centerpieces
Porcelain, Art Glass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Centerpieces
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Centerpieces
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Centerpieces
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Centerpieces
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Centerpieces
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Centerpieces
Brass
2010s English Modern Centerpieces
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Centerpieces
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Centerpieces
Porcelain
2010s British Modern Centerpieces
Porcelain, Art Glass, Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Centerpieces
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Centerpieces
Porcelain
2010s British Modern Centerpieces
Sterling Silver
2010s British Modern Centerpieces
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Centerpieces
Brass
2010s English Modern Centerpieces
Ceramic
2010s British Modern Centerpieces
Art Glass, Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Centerpieces
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Centerpieces
Brass
2010s Swedish Modern Centerpieces
Art Glass, Blown Glass
2010s English Modern Centerpieces
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Centerpieces
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Centerpieces
Britannia Standard Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Centerpieces
Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Centerpieces
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Centerpieces
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Centerpieces
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Centerpieces
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Centerpieces
Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Centerpieces
Ceramic