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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1940s Spanish Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plaster
Early 2000s French Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1940s Spanish Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plaster
20th Century American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
1990s Japanese Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
20th Century American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Aluminum
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plaster
20th Century Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Aluminum
2010s French Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Resin
Early 2000s Spanish Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Porcelain
20th Century North American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1980s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
Early 2000s Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Sterling Silver, Enamel
2010s German Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Aluminum, Gold Plate
Early 2000s French Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1980s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1980s American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Leather, Glass
20th Century German Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1950s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1980s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
Early 2000s German Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Resin, Fiberglass, Paint
1990s French Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1970s Peruvian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Sterling Silver
2010s Dutch Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Bamboo
2010s French Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1990s European Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Copper
1970s American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1960s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
2010s Dutch Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plastic
1990s Canadian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Porcelain
1970s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
Late 20th Century French Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
2010s Dutch Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plastic
Early 2000s Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Porcelain
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Ceramic
20th Century French Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plaster
20th Century American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
20th Century Unknown Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Pewter
1970s Israeli Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Gold
2010s Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Iron
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plaster
1930s Spanish Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plaster
1980s Spanish Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
1980s Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plaster, Wood
1930s Spanish Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plaster
Mid-20th Century American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Wood
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plaster, Wood
1970s English Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Stoneware
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plaster, Wood
Late 20th Century Brazilian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal