Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1990s German Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Romanian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1990s Czech Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
2010s Argentine Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Steel
Mid-20th Century French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
1980s American Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
Early 2000s French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Cut Steel
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Pewter
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal
2010s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Romanian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Wood
2010s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
2010s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
2010s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Gold
2010s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
Early 2000s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
1960s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Earthenware
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1930s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Art Glass
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
1990s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal, Gold Leaf
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
2010s South African Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Copper, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
1990s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Cut Glass, Murano Glass
1970s American Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass, Chrome
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Scottish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Murano Glass
20th Century English Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Amethyst, Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver, Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century Swedish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Romanian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Gold Leaf
Early 2000s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
1980s German Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
1970s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Romanian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Birch
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Iron
1990s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Gold