Modern Tables
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Tables
Stone, Travertine
2010s Portuguese Modern Tables
Wood, Lacquer
2010s Chinese Modern Tables
Oak
2010s Chinese Modern Tables
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Tables
Leather
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Tables
Brass
2010s Chinese Modern Tables
Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Tables
Marble, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Tables
Travertine, Stone, Marble
2010s Chinese Modern Tables
Stainless Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Tables
Ceramic, Earthenware, Stoneware
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Tables
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Tables
Limestone, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Tables
Travertine, Stone
2010s Chinese Modern Tables
Stainless Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Tables
Ceramic, Clay
2010s Chinese Modern Tables
Oak
2010s Turkish Modern Tables
Bronze
2010s Chinese Modern Tables
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Tables
Stone, Travertine, Marble
2010s American Modern Tables
Concrete, Cement
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Lacquer
2010s American Modern Tables
Maple
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Tables
Ceramic, Clay
2010s Brazilian Modern Tables
Metal
2010s Turkish Modern Tables
Bronze
2010s Portuguese Modern Tables
Ceramic, Clay
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Tables
Stone, Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
Iron
2010s Portuguese Modern Tables
Travertine
2010s American Modern Tables
Brass
2010s Turkish Modern Tables
Aluminum, Bronze
2010s Turkish Modern Tables
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Tables
Ceramic, Clay
20th Century Modern Tables
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Tables
Ceramic, Clay
2010s Chinese Modern Tables
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Tables
Wood, Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Tables
Resin, Fiberglass, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Tables
Oak
1980s American Vintage Modern Tables
Goatskin, Wood, Lacquer
2010s European Modern Tables
Metal
2010s Turkish Modern Tables
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Tables
Cement, Concrete
2010s Portuguese Modern Tables
Ceramic, Clay
2010s Canadian Modern Tables
Wood, Walnut
2010s Dutch Modern Tables
Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Tables
Ceramic, Clay
2010s Canadian Modern Tables
Wood, Maple
2010s Turkish Modern Tables
Aluminum, Bronze
2010s American Modern Tables
Maple, Oak, Walnut
Late 20th Century American Modern Tables
Brass
2010s Dutch Modern Tables
Travertine
2010s Dutch Modern Tables
Travertine
2010s Brazilian Modern Tables
Metal
2010s Turkish Modern Tables
Bronze, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Polish Modern Tables
Brass
Modern tables for sale on 1stDibs.
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