In post-war Britain, the 1960s marked a shift toward liberation and experimentation — socially, artistically, and decoratively. Monkeys, long associated in European iconography with folly, mimicry, and the singe savant (the wise fool), reemerged in interiors as playful subversions of Victorian moralism. Their appearance in domestic settings — as lamps, figurines, or even upholstery motifs — often poked fun at upper-class pretension while nodding to the empire’s disintegrating hold on exoticism.

This is a really odd piece. There has been a great deal of attention paid to carving the phallus for some reason. All good fun.

This solid bronze sculpture by an unknown artist is an archetypical example of the French decorative brutalist movement of the 1980s–1990s was a sculptural, material-driven response to the austerity of modernism, blending raw, primal materials like bronze, iron, and stone with poetic, often mythic forms. Designers such as Garouste & Bonetti, André Dubreuil, and Éric Schmitt created monolithic, artisanal furniture and lighting that blurred the line between art and design. Rejecting mass production, the movement emphasized craftsmanship, material honesty, and theatricality, carving out a distinctive niche within the broader postmodern design landscape.

Designed in the 1970s, the T24 coffee table is a striking example of postmodern design that merges industrial innovation with minimalist elegance. Known for his background in engineering and design, Ghyczy approached furniture with a focus on structural clarity and material experimentation. The T24 features a thick glass top suspended on cast metal brackets — typically brass or aluminum — which grip the glass without visible screws, creating a floating effect. This tension between heavy, durable materials and a sense of visual lightness is central to Ghyczy's aesthetic. The design reflects his pioneering use of sand-casting techniques and modular components, embodying a refined, technical brutalism. Though minimal in appearance, the table reveals a deep interest in precision, balance, and the poetic potential of industrial form. The T24 remains a collectible piece, valued for both its craftsmanship and its quiet radicalism within the postmodern era.

A master of form and function, Wegner created the JH 513 as a synthesis of comfort, precision joinery, and graceful proportions. The chair features a solid wood frame— in a dark stained oak—with subtly flared armrests and a floating seat and back, upholsted in its original orange velvet. Its silhouette is both architectural and organic, showcasing Wegner’s signature ability to balance visual lightness with structural integrity. Produced by the esteemed cabinetmaker Johannes Hansen, the JH 513 embodies the golden age of Danish furniture design, where artisanal quality met modernist ideals. Today, it is celebrated not only for its aesthetic purity but also for its timeless ergonomic intelligence.

This plaster artwork of a male and female figure, sculpted in solid brass with a rich verdigris patina, is a striking example of mid-to-late 20th-century figurative metalwork. Likely crafted in a studio setting, the piece merges classical form with a brutalist material sensibility, emphasizing volume, posture, and sensual contrast between the figures. The verdigris finish — a natural patina that develops on brass over time — lends the work a sense of age and archaeological depth, enhancing its tactile and visual richness.

The ‘Scintilla Terra’ floor lamp, designed in 1983 for Fontana Arte, is a sleek expression of Italian industrial design at the height of its postmodern experimentation. Constructed from plastic and aluminum, the lamp exemplifies a technical, almost architectural aesthetic — stripped back yet highly intentional. Its exposed bulb and minimalist frame reflect the Scintilla lighting system’s ethos: celebrating utility and raw illumination as design features in themselves. Designed for flexibility and atmospheric precision, the lamp casts a direct, almost theatrical light, making it ideal for accenting space rather than flooding it. A product of Italy’s influential 1980s design scene, the Scintilla Terra embodies the decade’s fascination with modularity, pared-back form, and material innovation, and remains a cult classic for collectors of modern lighting.

“Faraoväsen” by Karin Ward (born 1940) is a compelling sculptural work crafted from copper plate, partially painted, that reflects the artist’s interest in mythology, transformation, and expressive form. The title, translating roughly to “Pharaonic Being,” evokes ancient archetypes and ceremonial presence, aligning the work with a symbolic, almost totemic tradition. The use of copper — a material associated with both durability and mutability — is central to the piece’s character, its surface oxidized and textured to suggest age, mystery, and ritual. Ward’s technique combines metalworking with painterly interventions, layering patina and pigment to blur the boundary between sculpture and relief. “Faraoväsen” stands as a powerful, enigmatic figure — part deity, part guardian — and is representative of Sweden’s rich tradition of materially poetic, often mystical modernist sculpture.

This still life photograph, featuring a decapitated fish head, a teapot, silver jugs, and a scattering of tiny shells, evokes a darkly poetic meditation on domestic ritual and decay. Rich in texture and symbolic tension, the composition draws from the vanitas tradition — where everyday objects become meditations on mortality, time, and transience. The glint of the silver and the reflective surfaces of the metal contrast starkly with the visceral presence of the fish head, its lifeless eye anchoring the scene in something bodily and real. The tiny shells, almost incidental, echo themes of the sea, fragility, and memory. With its painterly lighting and deliberate arrangement, the photograph transcends mere documentation, instead suggesting a quiet, unsettling narrative — part Flemish still life, part contemporary surrealism.

This brass table lamp, attributed to Börje Claes, features a striking question mark form with a fully maneuverable head, allowing for adjustable lighting angles. The curving brass structure creates a dynamic, minimalist silhouette, while the movable head adds a practical, interactive element. The lamp blends sculptural design with functionality, offering both form and flexibility. The question mark shape, combined with the adjustable head, invites curiosity and provides a modern, industrial elegance, making the piece a striking focal point and a versatile lighting solution.

This pair of Belgian candlesticks, made from aluminum, feature a minimalist design with two interwoven scrolls that create a sense of fluidity and elegance. The simple form, enhanced by the smooth, polished finish of the metal, emphasizes modern craftsmanship and functional beauty. Aluminum, a material associated with the post-industrial era, contrasts with traditional metals, reflecting a mid-20th-century European shift toward modernism. These candlesticks combine industrial materiality with artistic form, embodying a refined, streamlined aesthetic that highlights both innovation and craftsmanship.

This Glass bookend by Peter Nilsson features a nude male form leaning against the edge, creating the illusion of a figure resting on the books. The transparent material emphasizes the fluidity and grace of the human body, while the figure's relaxed posture adds a touch of sensuality and intimacy. Nilsson’s design merges modernist simplicity with figurative art, capturing both the functionality of the bookend and the elegance of the human form. The clear glass material gives the piece a light, airy quality, elevating it from a practical object to a sculptural, artistic statement.

The replication of Benin bronzes has become a complex and significant practice, especially in the postcolonial period, as a means of reclaiming, preserving, and acknowledging African cultural history. These replicas allow contemporary audiences to engage with the artistry and symbolism of the original pieces while also raising questions about cultural appropriation and restitution. The figures in the trading scene, cast in bronze, evoke the dynamic exchanges that occurred both within the Benin Kingdom and with outside traders, a practice that was deeply intertwined with the region's power structures. However, as a replica, this work also highlights the history of disruption and violence caused by colonialism, where these objects were taken, dispersed, and often removed from their original cultural and political contexts.