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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Gold, Enamel, Sterling Silver
1930s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Alpaca
1990s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal
1990s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate
1960s German Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Gold Plate, Brass
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal, Gold Plate
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass, Silver Plate
20th Century American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Chrome, Copper
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Gold Leaf
Early 20th Century American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
1930s English Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate
1990s English Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
1990s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
1980s Japanese Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver
2010s German Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Oak
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
Late 20th Century American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
1980s American Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Glass
1980s British Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
1970s American Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Clay
1950s American Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Clay
2010s American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass
Late 20th Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Sterling Silver
2010s French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Copper
2010s French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Brass, Copper
20th Century Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Chrome
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal, Silver Plate
Late 20th Century French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Clay
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal, Silver Plate
2010s Palestinian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Blown Glass
20th Century Irish Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Cut Glass
Late 20th Century Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Wood, Rosewood
2010s Italian Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Murano Glass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Metal, Silver Plate
20th Century French Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Crystal
20th Century American Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Chrome
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Silver Plate, Metal
2010s German Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Epoxy Resin, Oak
2010s German Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Epoxy Resin, Walnut
2010s German Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Epoxy Resin, Walnut
2010s German Modern Serveware, Ceramics, Silver and Glass
Epoxy Resin, Walnut