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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s Spanish Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Stainless Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Stainless Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Gold, Stainless Steel
1980s Russian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Carrara Marble
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
1960s American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Wood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
Early 20th Century Israeli Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Abalone, Mother-of-Pearl, Olive
20th Century French Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Silk
1980s American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plastic
1920s American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Leather, Mahogany
Mid-20th Century American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Chrome, Brass
20th Century South African Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Animal Skin
1990s American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
2010s Spanish Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Aluminum, Stainless Steel
20th Century American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Leather
20th Century Spanish Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Wood
1930s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Silver Plate, Spelter
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Other
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plaster
1990s Spanish Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Ceramic
1980s Austrian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plastic
1950s American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plaster, Wood
1980s American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1980s Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1960s American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plaster, Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Aluminum, Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
20th Century Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Other
1930s Spanish Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plaster
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Sterling Silver, Enamel
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plaster
2010s Spanish Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Aluminum, Stainless Steel
2010s French Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
2010s French Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
Early 2000s French Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Foam
2010s American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1980s American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plastic, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Walnut
1990s Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Brass
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plaster
Late 20th Century African Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Natural Fiber, Wood
1980s American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Brass
1980s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Sterling Silver
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plaster
Mid-20th Century Mexican Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Silver
2010s American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1960s American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper