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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Early 2000s American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
Late 20th Century American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
2010s Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Brass
1960s German Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Composition, Metal
2010s French Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1990s American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Ceramic, Clay
1970s North American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Gold
Early 2000s French Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
Late 20th Century American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Wood, Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Foam
1980s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
20th Century Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Gold, Brass
1980s Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
20th Century Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Crystal
Early 2000s American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Other
20th Century Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Wood, Maple, Burl
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1990s French Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Foam
Early 2000s American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1980s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
Early 2000s Singaporean Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1990s American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
2010s Argentine Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Bronze
1960s American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1950s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Foam
Early 2000s French Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
Early 2000s French Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
20th Century French Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1990s French Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1990s American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1950s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
1980s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1980s American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1990s French Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
20th Century Unknown Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Gold
1990s Norwegian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Wood
1970s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1980s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1980s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1980s British Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century Spanish Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
1980s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1980s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
Early 2000s Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
1990s Canadian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
20th Century Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Gold
20th Century Unknown Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Gold
1990s American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
Early 2000s American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
20th Century Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Stainless Steel
1980s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
Late 20th Century French Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Linen, Silk