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Modern Games

MODERN STYLE

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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 chaircrafted 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.

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Style: Modern
Modern Vintage Black and White Plastic Chess, 1970s, Austria
Located in Vienna, AT
Modern vintage black and white plastic chess Austria 1970s, The plastic game board is flexible and therefore it allows the board to roll. Also the figures were made of plastic, King´...
Category

Late 20th Century Austrian Modern Games

Materials

Plastic

Black and Orange Beechwood Foosball Table with Aluminium Handles, Made in France
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Scroll down and click "view all from Seller" to see more than 400 other unique products. Made in France from solid beechwood, this Foosball / Babyfoot is the one you will find in Fr...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Games

Materials

Metal

Black & Blue Beechwood Foosball Table with Aluminium Handles, Made in France
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Scroll down and click "view all from Seller" to see more than 400 other unique products. Made in France from solid beech wood, this Foosball / Babyfoot is the one you will find in F...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Games

Materials

Metal

Modern Pool Table with Dark Oak Legs and Glass Top Frame by Impatia
Located in Milan, IT
Filotto wood edition billiard table gives a new life, new characteristics, and new values to a classic product. The design, construction, and workmanship of this work of genius are a...
Category

2010s Italian Modern Games

Materials

Slate, Metal, Chrome

Modern Glass Ping Pong Table With Walnut Base by Impatia
Located in Milan, IT
The Lungolinea Wood ping pong table is a vision, a desire to ambitiously reinterpret the classics. It demonstrates the sophistication and ingenuit...
Category

2010s Italian Modern Games

Materials

Chrome

Black and Red Beechwood Foosball Table with Aluminium Handles, Made in France
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Scroll down and click "view all from Seller" to see more than 400 other unique products. Made in France from solid beechwood, this foosball / Babyfoot is the one you will find in Fr...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Games

Materials

Metal

Modern Glass Pool Table With 24K Gold Plated Components by Impatia
Located in Milan, IT
The Filotto gold billiard table is a revived rendition of the Classic Filotto in Impatia's collection. The presented new edition radiates a sleek elegance, that is bound to become t...
Category

2010s Italian Modern Games

Materials

Slate, Gold Plate, Chrome

Modern Glass Ping Pong Table With Removable Net by Impatia
Located in Milan, IT
The Lungolinea glass ping pong table is a vision, a desire to ambitiously reinterpret the classics. It demonstrates the sophistication and ingenu...
Category

2010s Italian Modern Games

Materials

Chrome

"Cristallino" Crystal Foosball Transparent Table by Adriano Design for Teckell
Located in Brooklyn, NY
"Cristallino" is a crystal foosball table, designed by Adriano Design and manufactured by Teckell, featuring a tempered clear crystal structure 0.59" th., with beveled and cerium oxide polished corners, a playing field in laminated crystal (molded sheet sloping at the corners) in transparent glass, players made of aluminum, one team in shiny chrome, the other in dark nickel finish. DIMENSIONS: D. 29.13" (table with rods...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Games

Materials

Crystal, Nickel, Chrome, Stainless Steel, Brass, Aluminum

Contemporary Glass Pool Table by Impatia
Located in Milan, IT
Filotto is the first product created for Impatia’s collection, which gives new life, new characteristics, and new values to a Classic product. The design, construction, and workmansh...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Games

Materials

Slate, Metal, Chrome

Multigame Set in Red Briar and Mahogany Casinò Passion by Agresti
Located in New York, NY
Red briar and mahogany multigame, polished finish, leather handles. Contents: 36 cms mahogany roulette, rake, 365 poker chips, bosso chessmen, backgammon, poker dice...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Games

Materials

Leather, Mahogany

Rene Dumas Lucite Sculptural Chess Players French Vintage
Located in North Miami, FL
The designer of these amazing vintage French lucite modernist chess players from the 1970s are by Renee Dumas who is related to the Hermes family. They a...
Category

1970s French Vintage Modern Games

Materials

Lucite

STRATEGO Chessboard in black by Lorenzo Di Giovanni for Teckell
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Stratego chessboard, designed by Lorenzo di Giovanni and manufactured by Teckell, features an extra-clear crystal top with a solid marble base, available in three options: Calacatta ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Games

Materials

Crystal, Marble

Romeo Rega Signed Brass and Chrome-Plated Checkers Game, Italian Vintage
Located in North Miami, FL
This ultra chic and modern signed Italian Romeo Rega vintage checkers game has sculptural components. It is great just even as a decorative object or ...
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Modern Games

Materials

Brass, Stainless Steel, Chrome

Teckell T1.1 Crystal 8-foot Pool Table in Black by Marc Sadler
Located in Brooklyn, NY
T1.1 Black pool table with black trim lures in both design aficionados and top players. The light dances across its handcrafted glass surfaces and glimmers when it strikes the black aluminum rails. The tempered glass playing field is at least 9/16” thick. A precise leveling system utilizing 12 screws is hidden inside the table’s black, solid oak base. Available in different options: Light Bronze structure DIMENSIONS: D. 58.26", W. 102.36", H. 32.28" WEIGHT: 727.52 lbs It features legs made of clear tempered crystal at least 0.59" th. with double-bevel edges that self-stabilize, a support made of solid wood hollowed out for the insertion of the glass, hiding a perfect system of regulation and a playing field made of a single sheet of tempered crystal at least 0.59" th. Simonis 860 worsted wool playing surface available in 25 colors. For the perfect game of style, Teckell pool tables’ surfaces are also available with Redaelli Velluti made in Italy cloths. Bases are in solid oak which has been ebonized (a reaction that turns black the open pore wood) with a shiny stainless steel structure. The pockets are made of smoked transparent thermoplastic. Solid aluminum rails with black anodized finish. Accessories included with the pool table: four professional and stylish cues, one set of Pool Balls Aramith and one rack. Cue rack and ceiling lamp are also available on request. Indoor use only. "T1" is the product of an encounter between an entrepreneur and a designer, a project that becomes a reality thanks to the savoir faire of a group of Italian companies highly specialized in making individual components: glass, steel, wood, but also special high-tech polymers for the pockets and the bumpers. A great team effort at the service of an original and elegant idea that puts together imagination, entrepreneurial brilliance, technology and ability, in order to reveal and give life to a unique object. "T1" pool table is available in an eight feet version, ideal for modern homes’ living spaces. The crystal in the T1 pool table now glows with light, its exquisite transparency accentuated. Studio Sadler researched and designed a unique LED lighting system, captivating crystal’s beauty shines. Teckell’s pool tables are a synthesis of innovation and tradition, art and design, technology and craftsmanship. These one-of-a-kind objects are the result of thinking way outside the box and maximizing the capacity of materials. MARC SADLER, French citizen born in Austria, currently lives in Milan. Experimentation with plastics has often formed a key part of his activity. He already showed a strong curiosity for the subject choosing it for his thesis at ENSAD in Paris. Citizen of the world (he has lived and worked for many years in Europe, North America and Asia), he is a consultant for companies in the fields of home furnishings, large and small household appliances, lighting, technically advanced products, and sports. At the beginning of the seventies, he perfect the first ski-boot in thermo plastic material completely recyclable, subsequently commercialized by the Italian firm Caber (later known as Lotto). He quickly gains the responsibility of the entire collections and starts a long and fruitful collaboration which led to the patenting of the ski-boot with a symmetric shell, which was for many years the most widely-sold ski-boot in the world. This is the origin of his specialization as a sports designer, which led him to close collaboration with the most important multinational sport companies in the United States, Asia and Europe, both in the sport shoes...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Games

Materials

Crystal, Stainless Steel, Aluminum

Tri-Metal Backgammon Table by Alain Delon for Maison Jansen
Located in Houston, TX
1970s French Backgammon (Tric-Trac) table in copper, brass and chrome. Designed by Alain Delon in 1972 for The Jansen collection. Four removable asht...
Category

1970s French Vintage Modern Games

Materials

Brass, Copper, Chrome

Rene Dumas Vintage Lucite Aubergine and Clear Sculptural Chess Players French
Located in North Miami, FL
The designer of these amazing vintage French Lucite modernist chess players from the 1970s are by Renee Dumas who is related to the Hermes family. They a...
Category

1970s French Vintage Modern Games

Materials

Lucite

Chessboard "Homaage á Marcel Duchamp" with the L.H.O.O.Q. Mustache by Arman
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A shadow-box framed chessboard with the L.H.O.O.Q. mustache by Arman (1928-2005) entitled "Homaage á Marcel Duchamp". A screen-print on Skivertex leather chessboard. Framed behind g...
Category

1970s American Vintage Modern Games

Materials

Leather

Modern games for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Modern games for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage games created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include more furniture and collectibles, tables, decorative objects and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with wood, metal and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Modern games made in a specific country, there are Europe, Italy, and Spain pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original games, popular names associated with this style include IMPATIA, RS Barcelona, Adriano Design, and Teckell. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for games differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $125 and tops out at $77,000 while the average work can sell for $5,850.

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