Modern Desk Accessories
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Plastic
2010s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Concrete
2010s Argentine Modern Desk Accessories
Onyx, Stone, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Wood
Early 2000s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Metal
2010s Mexican Modern Desk Accessories
Marble
Early 2000s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Brass
2010s American Modern Desk Accessories
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Suede, Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Desk Accessories
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Desk Accessories
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Leather
2010s American Modern Desk Accessories
Brass
2010s American Modern Desk Accessories
Brass, Stainless Steel, Steel
1990s American Modern Desk Accessories
Iron
2010s Turkish Modern Desk Accessories
Cedar
Early 2000s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Metal
Early 2000s Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Crystal, Metal
2010s Spanish Modern Desk Accessories
Stone, Slate
2010s Spanish Modern Desk Accessories
Stone, Slate
2010s English Modern Desk Accessories
Cement
21st Century and Contemporary Greek Modern Desk Accessories
Brass
2010s Argentine Modern Desk Accessories
Stone, Onyx
2010s Argentine Modern Desk Accessories
Stone, Onyx
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Desk Accessories
Crystal
2010s Modern Desk Accessories
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Desk Accessories
Crystal
2010s New Zealand Modern Desk Accessories
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Desk Accessories
Crystal
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Murano Glass
20th Century Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Stainless Steel
20th Century French Modern Desk Accessories
Agate, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Desk Accessories
Leather
1970s French Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Desk Accessories
Ceramic
1930s Italian Vintage Modern Desk Accessories
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Desk Accessories
Ceramic
20th Century French Modern Desk Accessories
Crystal
Late 20th Century Modern Desk Accessories
Glass
Mid-20th Century American Modern Desk Accessories
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Desk Accessories
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Desk Accessories
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Desk Accessories
Leather
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Desk Accessories
Silver Plate, Brass
20th Century French Modern Desk Accessories
Crystal
2010s Argentine Modern Desk Accessories
Onyx, Stone, Metal
2010s Mexican Modern Desk Accessories
Resin
2010s North Korean Modern Desk Accessories
Shell
2010s North Korean Modern Desk Accessories
Shell
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Desk Accessories
Leather
2010s North Korean Modern Desk Accessories
Shell, Eggshell
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Desk Accessories
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Desk Accessories
Leather
2010s North Korean Modern Desk Accessories
Shell, Eggshell
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Desk Accessories
Leather