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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Stoneware
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Earthenware
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Earthenware
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Earthenware
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Earthenware
Mid-20th Century French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Plastic, Plexiglass
Late 20th Century English Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stainless Steel, Copper
2010s French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Other
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
1980s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
20th Century American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass, Art Glass, Murano Glass, Blown Glass
1990s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Clay
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate
2010s North Korean Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Shell
2010s North Korean Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Shell
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Clay
1880s Italian Antique Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Lapis Lazuli, Serpentine, Gold Plate, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Clay
2010s French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Clay
Early 2000s North American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Art Glass
2010s Egyptian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Acrylic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Leather
Late 20th Century French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
1980s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
1950s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal, Aluminum, Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Leather
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal, Silver Plate
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Leather
Early 2000s South African Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Clay
Late 19th Century English Antique Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate
1970s Finnish Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Onyx, Silver
2010s North Korean Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Shell
1990s French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Aluminum
1980s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Acrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass
1980s British Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
2010s Turkish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
2010s Turkish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Chestnut, Lacquer
2010s North Korean Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Shell
2010s North Korean Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Shell
2010s North Korean Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Shell
1970s British Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Murano Glass
1980s European Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver