Modern Barware
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Mid-20th Century German Modern Barware
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Barware
Marble, Carrara Marble
Late 20th Century Modern Barware
Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Barware
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Barware
Blown Glass
1990s German Modern Barware
Crystal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Barware
Marble
20th Century Modern Barware
Crystal
1980s French Vintage Modern Barware
Crystal, Bronze
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Barware
Metal, Gold Plate
2010s Italian Modern Barware
Crystal
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Barware
Brass
1980s French Vintage Modern Barware
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Barware
Art Glass, Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Barware
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Barware
Porcelain
1980s Danish Vintage Modern Barware
Brass, Stainless Steel
1970s French Vintage Modern Barware
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Barware
Art Glass, Murano Glass
1970s Swedish Vintage Modern Barware
Pewter
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Barware
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Barware
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Czech Modern Barware
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Barware
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Barware
Glass
1950s Austrian Vintage Modern Barware
Brass
Late 20th Century French Modern Barware
Mercury Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Barware
Resin, Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Barware
Resin, Plastic
2010s South American Modern Barware
Metal
2010s Turkish Modern Barware
Brass
2010s South American Modern Barware
Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Barware
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Czech Modern Barware
Glass
2010s South American Modern Barware
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Czech Modern Barware
Glass
2010s South American Modern Barware
Metal
20th Century French Modern Barware
Crystal, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Barware
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Barware
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Barware
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Barware
Resin, Plastic
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Barware
Metal, Silver Plate
20th Century Italian Modern Barware
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Barware
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Barware
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Barware
Resin, Plastic
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Barware
Onyx
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Barware
Resin, Plastic
2010s Brazilian Modern Barware
Bronze
Late 20th Century French Modern Barware
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Barware
Resin, Plastic
1930s Danish Vintage Modern Barware
Beech, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Barware
Glass
Late 20th Century Modern Barware
Blown Glass
1980s Vintage Modern Barware
Lucite
Early 2000s French Modern Barware
Silver Plate
2010s Brazilian Modern Barware
Bronze