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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stainless Steel
1980s German Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
2010s German Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
20th Century Chinese Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
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
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Clay, Majolica
2010s Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
2010s Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Travertine
Early 20th Century English Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Murano Glass
1970s Mexican Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Pottery, Ceramic
20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Coral, Silver, Sterling Silver
Early 2000s British Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Art Glass
20th Century Danish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
1980s German Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
20th Century American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
1960s American Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Romanian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Wood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
2010s European Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Marble, Stainless Steel
2010s Turkish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Wood, Oak
Early 2000s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Terracotta
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Gold
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass, Murano Glass
19th Century English Antique Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Steel
1960s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
Late 20th Century American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
1950s American Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate
Early 2000s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
Late 20th Century German Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
1970s American Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate
2010s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Clay
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass, Blown Glass
2010s British Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Art Glass, Blown Glass
1970s German Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Romanian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Wood
1950s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal, Silver Plate
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Aluminum