Modern Globes
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Danish Vintage Modern Globes
Fiberglass, Lucite
Late 20th Century American Modern Globes
Metal
1950s Belgian Vintage Modern Globes
Metal
1950s Belgian Vintage Modern Globes
Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Globes
Steel, Chrome
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Globes
Crystal
20th Century American Modern Globes
Metal
Late 20th Century German Modern Globes
Metal
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Globes
Carrara Marble, Brass
1960s American Vintage Modern Globes
1950s American Vintage Modern Globes
Metal, Brass
1960s Vintage Modern Globes
Metal
1960s American Vintage Modern Globes
Wood
20th Century Unknown Modern Globes
Wood, Paper
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Globes
Beech
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Globes
Metal
1970s Vintage Modern Globes
Fruitwood
Mid-20th Century American Modern Globes
Metal, Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Globes
Brass
Late 20th Century Danish Modern Globes
Metal
Late 20th Century American Modern Globes
Metal
1970s Vintage Modern Globes
Lucite
1930s American Vintage Modern Globes
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Globes
Stone, Metal
Late 20th Century Modern Globes
Iron
20th Century Unknown Modern Globes
Crystal
1970s American Vintage Modern Globes
Metal
1960s American Vintage Modern Globes
Metal
1980s American Vintage Modern Globes
Blown Glass
20th Century Mexican Modern Globes
Sterling Silver, Enamel
1980s American Vintage Modern Globes
Lapis Lazuli, Rock Crystal, Brass