Modern Boxes
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
20th Century American Modern Boxes
20th Century American Modern Boxes
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Wood
Mid-20th Century American Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver
18th Century and Earlier Italian Antique Modern Boxes
Aluminum
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Gold, Sterling Silver, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Boxes
Ceramic
2010s Spanish Modern Boxes
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Boxes
Bone, Palmwood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Other
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Brass, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Gold Plate
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Boxes
Ceramic
2010s Belgian Modern Boxes
Oak
Mid-20th Century American Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Boxes
Wood, Shagreen Stingray
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Brass, Gold Leaf
20th Century French Modern Boxes
Velvet, Wood, Paper
Early 2000s French Modern Boxes
Bronze
1940s British Vintage Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Boxes
Quartz
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Murano Glass
1990s Italian Modern Boxes
Gold, Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Brass
Late 20th Century French Modern Boxes
Leather, Fabric
1990s American Modern Boxes
Mahogany, Maple, Rosewood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Boxes
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Boxes
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Leather
1960s French Vintage Modern Boxes
Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Boxes
Hardwood
2010s Italian Modern Boxes
Leather
20th Century German Modern Boxes
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Boxes
Chrome, Silver Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Boxes
Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Boxes
Bone
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Stone
1970s American Vintage Modern Boxes
Walnut
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Murano Glass
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Boxes
Silver Plate
20th Century American Modern Boxes
Bone
20th Century American Modern Boxes
Bone
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Boxes
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Glass, Rosewood
1960s British Vintage Modern Boxes
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Brass, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Leather, Wood
Late 20th Century American Modern Boxes
Fabric, Glass, Teak
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Boxes
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century French Modern Boxes
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Boxes
Bone, Wood
18th Century and Earlier European Antique Modern Boxes
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Leather, Ebony
Early 2000s Philippine Modern Boxes
Animal Skin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Boxes
Brass, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Boxes
Ceramic








