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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1970s German Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
20th Century Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Crystal, Silver, Sterling Silver
1990s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Silver, Bronze, Gold
Late 20th Century Japanese Modern Decorative Objects
Bamboo, Rattan
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Decorative Objects
Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Decorative Objects
Porcelain
Early 2000s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
Late 20th Century French Modern Decorative Objects
Crystal, Silver Plate
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
20th Century American Modern Decorative Objects
Wood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Leather
2010s Argentine Modern Decorative Objects
Stone, Onyx, Metal
Early 2000s Japanese Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Decorative Objects
Bone
2010s Greek Modern Decorative Objects
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
Late 20th Century French Modern Decorative Objects
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Decorative Objects
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Plastic, Fiberglass
20th Century Modern Decorative Objects
Glass
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Glass, Art Glass, Cut Glass, Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Wood
2010s Polish Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Decorative Objects
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Ebony
1980s Unknown Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
2010s Mexican Modern Decorative Objects
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Decorative Objects
Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Stoneware
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1980s Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Pottery
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Decorative Objects
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Objects
Amethyst, Rock Crystal
2010s French Modern Decorative Objects
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Marble, Copper
1970s Argentine Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Majolica
1960s American Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Steel
20th Century Modern Decorative Objects
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Leather, Cotton
1980s Danish Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Objects
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
Modern decorative objects for sale on 1stDibs.
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