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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Clay, Majolica
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass, Murano Glass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
1960s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
1960s Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Terracotta
Late 20th Century German Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
20th Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
1990s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
Late 20th Century American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1990s English Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
1930s Slovak Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1920s North American Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
1960s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Pewter
20th Century English Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass, Cut Glass
1990s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
Late 20th Century English Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
1970s American Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
Early 20th Century Danish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Murano Glass
Early 20th Century Japanese Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Romanian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Wood
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
1960s Swedish Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
20th Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
Early 2000s French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
20th Century German Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
1990s Swiss Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
1960s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
20th Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass, Stainless Steel
1970s Danish Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver, Enamel
1950s American Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stoneware
20th Century Mexican Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stone, Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
2010s Mexican Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Marble
2010s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Walnut, Maple
Early 2000s South African Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Clay
1990s Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
2010s German Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
2010s Swedish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Art Glass, Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass