Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 North American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Gold
Late 20th Century Spanish Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Porcelain
20th Century American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Gold
Late 20th Century English Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Steel
20th Century Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plastic
1990s American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
1940s American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Porcelain
20th Century Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Carrara Marble
2010s American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Acrylic
1960s Mexican Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Leather
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plaster
20th Century French Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Canvas, Paint
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Porcelain
2010s English Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Granite, Marble
20th Century Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Gold, Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plastic
20th Century Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Porcelain
Late 20th Century Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Chrome
Late 20th Century Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Feathers
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Stone
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Porcelain
2010s Dutch Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plastic
20th Century English Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
2010s Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Marble
Early 2000s American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
2010s Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Leather, Suede
1990s Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plaster
2010s Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Ceramic
20th Century Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Chrome
Early 2000s Mexican Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1990s Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
2010s Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Chrome
20th Century Unknown Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Pewter
2010s American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
2010s Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Acrylic, Porcelain