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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass, Blown Glass
1990s Japanese Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver
Mid-20th Century Peruvian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1980s Czech Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal
1980s German Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
1980s German Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1980s American Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Shell, Cork
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
Late 20th Century Mexican Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stone, Sterling Silver
2010s German Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
1970s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
1960s Mexican Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Platinum
Early 1900s Israeli Antique Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver, Brass, Copper
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
Early 20th Century American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
1990s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
1980s Unknown Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver, Enamel
1990s Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
1950s Swedish Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
Late 20th Century American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
Late 20th Century German Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Romanian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
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, Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Romanian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Wood
2010s Mexican Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Copper, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Gold Leaf
2010s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Linen
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
20th Century Unknown Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
2010s Turkish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Wood, Oak
1970s American Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
2010s Greek Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Marble
1970s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal
2010s German Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Gold, Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
2010s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass