Decorative Objects for the Home

Boxes, catchalls, bowls, vases and sculpture from Hermes, Just Andersen, Svenskt Tenn and the glass furnaces of Murano. Our decorative objects are one of one, most made between the 1920s and the 1980s.

Decorative Objects with a Maker and a Story

Every room has a few pieces that do the real work: the box on the console, the dish by the door, the vase on the mantel, the small sculpture on the bookshelf. These are decorative objects, and they decide whether a room feels collected or simply furnished.

At Cameron Steiner, our decorative objects are vintage pieces with a maker, a period and a reason to exist. We choose them for design, material and condition. Our decorative objects include boxes, vide poches, catchalls, trays, bowls, vases, candle holders, frames and small sculpture. They come from Hermes, Gucci, Cartier and Bvlgari, from Just Andersen and Svenskt Tenn in Scandinavia, from the glass furnaces of Murano and from Italian designers working in brass, travertine and lucite.

Most of our decorative objects were made between the 1920s and the 1980s. Each of our decorative objects is one of a kind, so no other room will have the same piece. Many were made in bronze, pewter, sterling silver, crystal and stone, materials that age well and feel solid in the hand.

This guide explains how we think about decorative objects. It covers where the tradition comes from, the terms dealers use, the types and makers we carry, how to read marks and condition, how to style decorative objects in a room and what they cost. Every one of our decorative objects is listed with its maker, material, size, date and condition. To see every home category together, browse our vintage home decor.

From Cabinets of Curiosities to the Coffee Table

Decorative objects have always said something about the people who own them.

The Cabinet of Curiosities

In the 16th and 17th centuries, European collectors filled cabinets with shells, carvings, instruments and small treasures from abroad. These were an early form of decorative objects: things chosen as much for what they said about their owner as for what they did.

The Twentieth Century

The 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs in Paris set the tone for modern decorative objects. Designers began to treat decorative objects such as boxes, bowls and vases as serious design, made in new materials and clean shapes.

Design for Every Home

In Vienna, the Hagenauer workshop made brass animals and figures, decorative objects for middle-class homes. In Stockholm, Svenskt Tenn made modern pewter. In Italy, designers worked in glass, stone and brass. Those threads still run through our decorative objects today.

Terms Worth Knowing

Dealers and auction catalogs use a working vocabulary for decorative objects. Knowing it makes every listing easier to read.

Vide poche. French for "empty pocket," a small dish for keys, coins and jewelry. In English it is usually called a catchall.

Objet d'art. A small object valued for its craft and design, such as a box, bowl or sculpture. The French term for fine decorative objects.

Pewter. A tin-based alloy, a staple of Scandinavian decorative objects. It ages to a soft gray.

Disko metal. The bronze-like alloy Just Andersen developed and named after Disko Bay in Greenland, where he grew up.

Guilloche. A machine-engraved pattern of fine lines. On decorative objects, a crisp engine-turned lid is a clear sign of quality.

Sommerso. Murano glass with layers of color cased inside clear glass, common in glass decorative objects.

Silver plate. A base metal coated with silver, often marked E.P.N.S. or S.P.

Patina. The soft aging of bronze, brass, pewter and silver. Even patina is part of the appeal of vintage decorative objects.

Decorative Objects by Type

Our decorative objects are organized by what they do. Each type of decorative objects has its own collectors.

Decorative Boxes

Boxes are the largest group of decorative objects we carry, and the most useful, because they hide clutter while they decorate. We carry these decorative objects in bronze, sterling, lacquer, stone, lucite and wood.

Catchalls, Vide Poches and Trays

The catchall is the everyday hero of decorative objects. It holds keys by the door, rings by the sink and cufflinks on the dresser. See our ashtrays and catchalls.

Bowls and Dishes

Bowls are where decorative objects show off their materials, from Murano glass and hammered brass to pewter and porcelain.

Vases and Vessels

Vases give decorative objects height. Most of ours are beautiful empty, which matters on a shelf, and most will still hold a single stem.

Sculpture and Figural Pieces

Small sculpture brings a figure into a room of decorative objects: crystal heads, pewter animals, bronze figures and car paperweights. For larger works, browse our vintage art.

Candle Holders, Frames and Desk Pieces

Candelabra, picture frames and desk pieces are decorative objects that finish a room. For the study, see our luxury desk accessories.

The Makers on Our Shelves

Attribution ties decorative objects to a workshop, a period and a standard of work. These are the makers who appear most often in our collection.

Hermes and the Paris Silversmiths

Hermes designed and sold decorative objects under its own name, but much of its silver was made by the Paris silversmith Ravinet d'Enfert. Horse heads, bits and rope motifs appear again and again on Hermes decorative objects. See our vintage Hermes collection.

Just Andersen

The Danish designer made vases, candelabra and small animals in Disko metal and pewter. They are some of the most approachable signed decorative objects on the market.

Svenskt Tenn and Swedish Grace Pewter

Estrid Ericson founded Svenskt Tenn in Stockholm in 1924 to offer modern pewter as an alternative to silver. With C.G. Hallberg and GAB, it defined Swedish Grace, a quiet, classical style that makes some of the best value decorative objects today.

Murano Glass

Murano glass is the colorful heart of our decorative objects. Flavio Poli's sommerso work for Seguso is the best-known example, along with textured scavo glass.

Gucci, Cartier, Bvlgari and the Fashion Houses

The fashion and jewelry houses also made decorative objects: Gucci catchalls and boxes with horsebits, Cartier trays and boxes, and Bvlgari porcelain made with Rosenthal. Browse our vintage Gucci collection.

Hagenauer, Daum and Italian Design

Hagenauer brass from Vienna, Daum crystal from France and Italian designers working in brass and stone round out the makers of our decorative objects.

Reading Marks and Condition

Marks are where decorative objects tell you who made them and when.

Pewter and Metal

Scandinavian pewter decorative objects usually carry a maker's mark, a town mark and often a date letter. Read together, they can date a piece to the year.

Silver and Silver Plate

French and Italian silver decorative objects carry purity and maker's marks. Plated pieces carry marks such as E.P.N.S. or S.P. A piece with no silver mark at all should be treated as plate until proven otherwise.

Glass

Murano glass is the hardest to attribute. Paper labels are often lost, and the Vetro Artistico Murano trademark was only created in 1994, so mid-century pieces will never carry it. Technique and form matter as much as labels when judging glass decorative objects.

Judging Condition

Condition decides the price of decorative objects as much as the maker does. Original liners, inserts and boxes add value, and honest wear is far better than heavy restoration.

How to Style a Room

Vintage decorative objects are easy to live with once you have a plan.

Start with Function

A catchall belongs by the door, a box on the desk and a bowl on the coffee table. Decorative objects that are used stay part of a household.

Group by Material

Repeat a material such as brass or pewter two or three times across a room so your decorative objects read as a collection.

Mix Eras

Decorative objects from different eras, such as a Swedish Grace pewter bowl next to a 1970s lucite box, feel collected, not themed.

Leave Room

On shelves, leave space between decorative objects and let books do part of the work. Good decorative objects need air around them.

What Decorative Objects Cost

Prices for our decorative objects run from a little over a hundred dollars to several thousand, so there is a place to start for every budget.

The Price Bands

Under $400: small catchalls, trinket boxes, bud vases, nut bowls and porcelain dishes, a good place to start with decorative objects.

$400 to $1,000: most bronze and pewter boxes, Murano glass, brass vide poches, candle holders and signed Scandinavian pieces. This is where most of our decorative objects sit.

$1,000 and above: Hermes silver, Cartier and Bvlgari pieces, rare sculpture and the strongest signed decorative objects.

What Moves a Price

Five things shape the price of decorative objects. The first is the maker. The second is the material. The third is condition. The fourth is rarity. The fifth is completeness, including original liners and boxes.

Caring for Vintage Pieces

A little care keeps decorative objects looking their best for decades.

Brass and Bronze

Dust brass and bronze decorative objects regularly with a dry cloth. Avoid polishing unless a piece truly needs it, since patina is part of its value.

Silver and Silver Plate

Use a soft cloth on silver decorative objects, polish rarely and avoid dips, which can wear away hallmarks and plating.

Glass, Lacquer, Stone and Pewter

Wash glass decorative objects by hand. Keep lacquer away from heat and sun. Dust stone and pewter and leave their surface alone.

Our View, After Years of Sourcing

Years of buying decorative objects from estates, dealers and auction rooms have left us with a few convictions.

First, buy what you will use. Decorative objects earn their place by being part of daily life.

Second, look at the object, not the label. Some of the best decorative objects we have handled carried no famous name at all.

Third, honest wear is history. Polishing it away does not make decorative objects better.

Finally, the best decorative objects rarely wait. One-of-one pieces move quickly. If you have something in mind, let us look for it.

Decorative Objects Questions

What are decorative objects?

Decorative objects are pieces made to furnish a room rather than to be worn or used up, such as boxes, catchalls, trays, bowls, vases, candle holders, frames and small sculpture. Vintage decorative objects from known makers combine beauty, function and history in one piece.

The term covers a wide range of things, but they share a purpose: to give a room character. Some decorative objects are purely ornamental, like a small bronze animal or a crystal head. Most are useful too, like a box that hides clutter, a vide poche that holds keys or a bowl that holds fruit. What makes decorative objects worth collecting is the maker, the material and the design. A Svenskt Tenn pewter bowl, a Hermes silver catchall or a Murano glass vase was made with real care and in materials that age well. Our decorative objects are almost all vintage, most made between the 1920s and the 1980s, so each one is one of a kind. Every listing names the maker, material, size, date and condition, so you know exactly what you are buying.

What is the difference between decorative objects and home decor?

Decorative objects are the small pieces that sit on surfaces: boxes, bowls, vases, catchalls and sculpture. Home decor is broader and includes art, barware, silver and desk pieces too. Our vintage home decor collection brings every home category together, including these decorative objects.

Think of decorative objects as the finishing layer of a room. Furniture and lighting set the structure, art covers the walls, and decorative objects bring the surfaces to life. They are also the easiest way to change how a room feels without buying anything large. Moving a pair of brass candlesticks, adding a lacquer box or setting a Murano bowl on a table can shift a room in minutes. At Cameron Steiner, this page focuses on decorative objects specifically. If you want to browse every home category in one place, including barware, silver, art and desk pieces, our vintage home decor collection gathers them all. Many collectors start with decorative objects because they are small, affordable and easy to place, then add larger pieces over time. It is the simplest way to begin.

What is a vide poche?

A vide poche is a small dish for keys, coins, jewelry and the contents of your pockets. The name is French for "empty pocket." In English it is usually called a catchall, and it is one of the most useful decorative objects you can own.

Vide poches were a staple of French and Italian homes through the 20th century, placed by the front door, on a dresser or on a desk. They come in every material: Italian travertine, hammered brass, bronze, green glass, porcelain and silver. Hermes made famous examples in silver shaped as horse heads and horse bits, and Bvlgari made porcelain versions with Rosenthal. Gucci made catchalls in leather and brass with its equestrian motifs. Because they are small, useful and endlessly varied, vide poches are often the first decorative objects people buy, and many collectors end up with one in every room. If you buy a single piece to use every day, a catchall by the front door is the easiest place to start. Browse our ashtrays and catchalls for more.

How can I tell if Murano glass is genuine?

Look at technique, weight and form as much as labels. Genuine Murano glass shows techniques such as sommerso casing, scavo texture or hand-applied details. Paper labels are often lost, and the Vetro Artistico Murano trademark only dates from 1994, so mid-century decorative objects will never carry it.

Murano glass is one of the most copied materials in decorative objects, so careful buying matters. Period pieces usually show slight irregularities, a polished or ground base and colors that sit naturally in the glass. Modern imitations are often lighter, too uniform and sometimes carry a printed or molded mark rather than a paper label. Signed or labeled pieces by makers such as Seguso, and designs attributed to Flavio Poli, carry the strongest prices. When we list Murano glass among our decorative objects, we state the maker, attribution or label we relied on, and we say so when an attribution is based on style alone. If you are unsure about a piece, ask us for close photos of the base and any label. We would rather answer a question than sell a piece that is not what you expected.

What is Swedish Grace design?

Swedish Grace is a refined, classical style of Swedish design from the 1920s and 1930s, seen in pewter, bronze and glass. Its decorative objects use clean lines, classical motifs and quiet surfaces, and makers include Svenskt Tenn, C.G. Hallberg and GAB.

The style grew from a Swedish interest in classical forms combined with modern restraint. Estrid Ericson founded Svenskt Tenn in Stockholm in 1924 to offer modern pewter as an alternative to silver, and her pieces became some of the defining decorative objects of the period. C.G. Hallberg made bowls, vases and candlesticks with laurel wreaths and urn shapes. GAB, founded in Stockholm in 1867, added fine pewter and silver. For collectors of decorative objects, Swedish Grace pewter is one of the best values in the market, because quality is high and prices remain modest compared with French or Italian work of the same period. Among our decorative objects you will find Swedish Grace bowls, vases and lidded vessels. The style suits both traditional and modern rooms, which makes it easy to live with.

How can I tell if pewter is old?

Look for maker's marks, town marks and date letters on the base, along with a soft, even gray patina. Scandinavian pewter is often marked precisely enough to date decorative objects to the year. A bright, uniform shine usually means a piece is recent or heavily polished.

Old pewter develops a soft surface over decades, with slight wear on high points and handles where it has been touched. Swedish pewter typically carries a maker's mark, the town mark and a date letter, which together can date a piece precisely. Danish pieces by Just Andersen are usually signed and numbered. Weight helps too, since period pieces tend to feel substantial. Be cautious of pieces that look too bright or too perfect, since heavy polishing removes both patina and value. When we sell pewter decorative objects, we state the marks we can read and the date they support. Leave the patina on pewter decorative objects alone, and simply dust them. If you are unsure about a mark, send us a photo and our team will help you read it.

How do I care for vintage decorative objects?

Dust brass, bronze and pewter with a dry cloth and avoid polishing unless a piece truly needs it. Use a soft cloth on silver and polish rarely. Wash glass by hand, keep lacquer away from heat and sun, and never put vintage decorative objects in a dishwasher.

Patina is part of the value of most vintage decorative objects, so the goal is gentle maintenance rather than restoration. For brass and bronze, regular dusting is all that is needed, and a light coat of microcrystalline wax can protect the surface. For silver, avoid chemical dips, which can wear away hallmarks and plating over time. Wash glass and crystal one piece at a time in warm water with a mild soap. Lacquer is the most sensitive finish in decorative objects, so keep it away from heating vents, windows and direct sun. Stone such as travertine can stain, so use a coaster under anything wet. Keep original boxes and liners for decorative objects that came with them, since they protect pieces and add value. If a piece needs repair, ask us and we can suggest how to approach it.

How should I style decorative objects?

Start with function, so a catchall goes by the door and a box on the desk. Group decorative objects by material, mix eras, add one sculptural piece as a focal point and leave space between objects so each one can be seen.

On a coffee table, use a tray to group two or three decorative objects with a stack of books, and vary their heights. A single sculptural piece, such as a crystal head or a pewter animal, gives the eye somewhere to land. On shelves, leave space between decorative objects and let books do part of the work, since crowded shelves look cluttered rather than collected. Repeat a material such as brass, pewter or glass two or three times across a room so your decorative objects read as a collection. Let modern furniture supply clean lines and let vintage pieces supply texture, age and character. The one thing to avoid is matching everything, since the best rooms look as if they were gathered over time. Our team is glad to suggest decorative objects that work together for a specific room.

How much do decorative objects cost?

Our decorative objects start a little over a hundred dollars for small catchalls, trinket boxes and bud vases. Most bronze and pewter boxes, Murano glass and brass vide poches sit between $400 and $1,000. Hermes silver, Cartier and Bvlgari pieces and rare sculpture run higher.

Five things shape the price of decorative objects: the maker, the material, the condition, the rarity and whether original liners, inserts or boxes are included. A signed piece by Hermes, Just Andersen or Svenskt Tenn will cost more than an unsigned piece of similar quality, because the name carries demand. Sterling silver and crystal sit above plate and ordinary glass. Honest condition matters, and a well-preserved original surface is usually worth more than a heavily restored one. Vintage decorative objects often deliver more quality for the money than new decorative accessories at the same price, since many were made in materials and techniques that are costly today. If you share your budget, our team can point you to decorative objects that make the most of it and send extra photos before you decide.

Do you ship decorative objects?

Yes. We ship our decorative objects anywhere in the United States, and domestic shipping is free. Every piece is packed by hand, with extra protection for glass, porcelain, stone and lacquer, and ships in its original box when it has one.

We confirm every order by email and send tracking when the piece ships. Fragile decorative objects, such as Murano glass and porcelain, are double boxed and padded to arrive safely. Gifts can ship directly to the recipient with no prices in the package, and you can add a gift note at checkout. Decorative objects make thoughtful housewarming, wedding and host gifts, since they suit almost any home. For international shipping, contact us before you buy and we will confirm options and costs. If you need a piece to arrive by a certain date, contact us first and we will confirm timing. If anything arrives damaged, contact us right away with photos and we will make it right. We want all of our decorative objects to arrive exactly as described, packed as carefully as they were chosen.

Can you find a specific piece, or buy my decorative objects?

Yes to both. Our sourcing team searches our network of dealers, estates and auction contacts for specific decorative objects, such as a Hermes catchall or a Svenskt Tenn vase. Our sell and consign team reviews decorative objects and collections of every size.

For sourcing, send a request with as much detail as you can, including photos, measurements or reference numbers if you have them, along with your budget and timing. We will tell you what is realistic and reach out when a match turns up. New decorative objects arrive every Friday, so our selection changes often and one-of-one pieces move quickly. For selling, send clear photos of the whole piece, the marks and any wear. We are most interested in signed decorative objects from Hermes, Gucci, Cartier, Just Andersen, Svenskt Tenn and the Murano makers, along with fine bronze, pewter, silver and glass. We can buy outright or sell on consignment, depending on your goals. For anything else, email cameron@cameronsteiner.com or use our contact page. We enjoy the hunt for rare decorative objects as much as our clients do, and we keep every request on file.

Find Your Next Piece at Cameron Steiner

Our decorative objects change every week, with new pieces arriving every Friday. Each piece is checked for marks, materials and condition before it is listed, described plainly and packed by hand. Domestic shipping is free on every order. Shopping for a new home? Browse our housewarming gifts, or see more from the table in our vintage silver collection.

Looking for something specific? Tell us what you have in mind through our sourcing request form and we will search our network of dealers and estates for it. If you have pieces to sell, our sell and consign team reviews collections of every size. For anything else, contact our team or email cameron@cameronsteiner.com.