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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 British Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stoneware
2010s European Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Cast Stone
Mid-20th Century German Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
2010s Finnish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Leather
2010s English Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Cast Stone
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Marble, Carrara Marble
2010s Mexican Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
Early 2000s Mexican Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate
2010s Belgian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1990s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
2010s French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Acrylic
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
2010s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Stoneware
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Marble
2010s European Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
2010s Macedonian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
20th Century Japanese Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
1960s Peruvian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
20th Century French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Acrylic
2010s Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
20th Century Hungarian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
1990s French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1950s Austrian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass, Copper, Tin
Early 2000s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
2010s Mexican Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Murano Glass
20th Century German Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
2010s French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Driftwood
21st Century and Contemporary Czech Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Marble
20th Century English Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
2010s Ukrainian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass, Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stoneware
20th Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Pottery, Stoneware
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Marble
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
2010s Mexican Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Resin
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1960s Greenlandic Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stainless Steel
1970s Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Murano Glass
1930s Danish Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Beech, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Marble