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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1960s European Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
1960s German Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Composition, Metal
1960s Mexican Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1960s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Chrome, Brass
1960s American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1960s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1960s American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1960s Peruvian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Sterling Silver
1960s British Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Crystal
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Crystal
1960s American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1960s Peruvian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Sterling Silver
1960s Peruvian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Sterling Silver
1960s Peruvian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Sterling Silver
1960s Mexican Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Sterling Silver
1960s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
1960s American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Marble
1960s American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
1960s German Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Leather, Jute
1960s German Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Leather, Jute
1960s German Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Leather, Jute
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Aluminum, Silver
1970s German Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
Mid-20th Century American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Glass
2010s American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Wood, Feathers
1970s American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
20th Century Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Gold
1960s Japanese Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1970s Mexican Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Linen, Paper
1960s German Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
1970s German Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Travertine
1960s Belgian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Bronze
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Faux Bamboo, Resin
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
1960s European Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Chrome
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Enamel
1960s American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1960s American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Copper, Stainless Steel
1960s Mexican Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Onyx
1960s European Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Foam, Paper
1960s German Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Leather, Jute
1960s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal