Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
2010s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
2010s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
2010s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
20th Century French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal, Silver Plate
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Art Glass
Mid-20th Century Japanese Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver
Early 20th Century American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
2010s Finnish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
1960s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal
1960s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1970s German Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
20th Century American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
1960s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1960s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1980s American Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver
2010s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Clay, Porcelain
2010s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Clay, Porcelain
2010s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic, Clay, Porcelain
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate
1970s European Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary African Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
1970s French Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Acrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal, Metal, Gold Plate, Silver Plate
1950s German Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Stainless Steel
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Murano Glass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate
1990s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver, Cut Steel
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
1990s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Gold Plate, Enamel, Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century German Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver
1880s Dutch Antique Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
Late 20th Century French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate
Early 20th Century Austrian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver
1980s Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Aluminum