Modern Decorative Objects
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 American Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Bronze, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Ebony
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Glass
20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Blown Glass
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Objects
Blown Glass
Late 20th Century German Modern Decorative Objects
Crystal
Late 20th Century English Modern Decorative Objects
Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Metal
2010s American Modern Decorative Objects
Aluminum, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Other
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Wood
20th Century Swiss Modern Decorative Objects
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Marble
2010s American Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Clay, Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Glass
Mid-20th Century Belgian Modern Decorative Objects
Crystal
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Decorative Objects
Marble
2010s American Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
20th Century French Modern Decorative Objects
Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century Modern Decorative Objects
Marble, Bronze
1970s American Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Goatskin, Felt, Wood
2010s Argentine Modern Decorative Objects
Stone, Onyx
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Clay
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
1980s Canadian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Marble, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
Late 20th Century French Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass
2010s Polish Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
2010s Chinese Modern Decorative Objects
Metal, Aluminum
1970s Czech Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass
2010s French Modern Decorative Objects
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Objects
Coral
Mid-20th Century American Modern Decorative Objects
Cut Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
2010s Modern Decorative Objects
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Decorative Objects
Resin
1970s American Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Metal
20th Century Modern Decorative Objects
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Decorative Objects
Metal
1970s French Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass
1980s Spanish Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Porcelain
2010s French Modern Decorative Objects
Crystal
1980s French Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Crystal
1970s French Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Resin, Acrylic
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Plastic
2010s American Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Decorative Objects
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Resin
20th Century French Modern Decorative Objects
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Decorative Objects
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century French Modern Decorative Objects
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Aluminum
Modern decorative objects for sale on 1stDibs.
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