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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1980s Hong Kong Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plastic
1970s American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal, Gold
1980s North American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Gold, Silver
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plastic
Late 20th Century American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1980s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Malachite, Gold
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Aluminum
1970s German Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
Late 20th Century Spanish Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
Late 20th Century American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Gold
1970s American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1990s Swiss Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plastic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
Late 20th Century American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Wood, Resin
Late 20th Century American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Fabric, Mahogany
Late 20th Century Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Oak
Late 20th Century American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
1970s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Crystal
1990s Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plastic, Paper
1990s Japanese Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Leather
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Crystal
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Crystal
1990s American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1990s American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Wood, Paint
1990s Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plastic, Paper
1990s Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plastic, Paper
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Crystal
1990s Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Plastic, Paper
1990s American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
Late 20th Century Monacan Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
1990s American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
Late 20th Century American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1980s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1990s American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Ceramic, Clay
1990s French Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1980s Japanese Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal, Chrome
Late 20th Century English Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Steel
1990s American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1980s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1980s Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1980s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1970s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1980s American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1980s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1980s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1980s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1990s Norwegian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Wood
1990s American Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1970s North American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Gold
1990s Canadian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1980s French Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1990s French Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
Late 20th Century French Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Linen, Silk
1980s American Vintage Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1990s French Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper