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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal
1980s American Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver, Copper
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stainless Steel
Early 2000s French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
1940s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Earthenware
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Murano Glass
2010s Mexican Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Marble
1990s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Onyx
1960s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
1950s German Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate
1980s Taiwanese Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Romanian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Gold Leaf
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
Early 2000s Korean Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Iron
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Travertine, Marble
1980s Mexican Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Multi-gemstone, Silver
Late 20th Century American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
2010s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Porcelain
Early 20th Century American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Clay
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal, Metal, Silver Plate
2010s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stainless Steel
20th Century Unknown Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Art Glass
Mid-20th Century American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
1960s English Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Onyx
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century English Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Earthenware
1980s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Gold Plate, Silver Plate
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stone, Marble
20th Century Irish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Cut Glass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Czech Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
20th Century Unknown Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
Early 2000s Swedish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stainless Steel
1970s American Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
1990s Swedish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Art Glass
2010s Argentine Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Pottery, Clay
20th Century Irish 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
Glass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Gold, Sterling Silver, Enamel
1980s Brazilian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal, Silver Plate
Late 20th Century American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Lucite
Mid-20th Century British Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1970s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass