Furniture
Every piece of furniture has a practical purpose regardless of how simple or grand it is, even if some pieces were built more for display than function. Today, furniture remains one of the largest areas of the antiques market and items are categorised by type and period.
The term brown furniture refers to traditional pieces made from dark woods such as mahogany, while pieces made from native woods like oak and walnut are sometimes referred to as vernacular furniture.
Famous historical makers include Chippendale, Gillows, William Vile and John Cobb. More recent market trends have seen modern vintage pieces appearing in specialist design and ‘Interior’ auctions.
Basic quality shines through in Ely
11 March 2019This early 18th century walnut chest of drawers offered at Rowley’s (22.5% buyer’s premium) Ely rooms on February 16 had plenty going for it including small size at 2ft 8in (81cm) wide, a crossbanded top and a brushing slide.
Indo-Portuguese table cabinet in Edinburgh auction underlines market demand
11 March 2019Underlined by a £65,000 bid for a table cabinet, the attraction of Indo-Portuguese furniture – that combines familiar European forms with the exotic lure of the East – is as strong today as it was in centuries past.
Buyers take Paul Reeves dealer name as mark of quality
11 March 2019Some buyers regard sales of dealers’ stock as a minus on the grounds that the lots have been ‘seen’. Others view them as a plus, reckoning the material has already been the choice of an expert.
Table with a naughty side
11 March 2019A jumble of names scratched into a piece of oak by naughty children (or possibly adults) has been discovered on the underside of an antique table in the latest exhibition at WR Harvey in Witney.
Winter auction greeted with warm response
04 March 2019The plethora of single-collection sales at the start of the year was not at the expense of old-fashioned auctions offering good-quality offerings across the range of dealing and collecting – such as the Winter Fine Arts sale at Duke’s (25% buyer’s premium) of Dorchester.
Welsh auction house battles back from devastating deluge to achieve ‘a gratifying result’
04 March 2019Precisely four months on from a flood inundating its saleroom, Carmarthen auction house Peter Francis (20% buyer’s premium) enjoyed a literal and metaphorical day in the sunshine on February 13.
Revivalist furniture full of life at auction
04 March 2019Regarded in their time as examples of the finest cabinet-making rather than simply reproductions, good 19th century French revivalist furniture remains in demand.
Five highlights from the upcoming sale of the collection of William H Stokes Antiques
25 February 2019The collection and stock of former Cirencester dealership William H Stokes Antiques will be offered at auction in the Gloucestershire town by London firm The Pedestal.
Relic ready to give a dealer lift at Scone Palace fair
25 February 2019A rare Georgian invalid’s ‘chair lift’ is one of the highlights at the Scone Palace Antiques & Fine Art Fair.
VOGEL AND OLIVE COLLECTIONS: Two auctions showing the highs and the lows of traditional markets
25 February 2019The sale of two great collections at auction – one in London, the other in New York – has highlighted the ebbs and flows of the market for early British pottery and furniture.
Stuart needlework adds rarity to mirror at Vogel sale
25 February 2019This 2ft (60cm) high Charles II needlework looking glass worked with figures and fantastical beasts emblematic of the seasons was estimated at $10,000-15,000 but sold at $80,000 (£61,500) in the Vogel collection auction at Sotheby's New York.
A collector with a good eye for varied purchases
25 February 2019Billed as a private London collection, the February 5 sale at Chiswick Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) betrayed a single owner with a good eye and wide-ranging enthusiasms.
Obituary: Antique furniture dealer John Bedford
25 February 2019John Bedford of William Bedford was one of the major dealers in antique furniture in London in the 1970s and for the next 35 years dominated his corner of the trade.
Let there be lights at Dulwich College fair
25 February 2019Lamps in south London form a stylish and popular part of the mid-century collecting field.
Interior designer’s taste fuels white-glove auction
25 February 2019A very different residence to Harold Ward’s Manthorpe House (see Mellors & Kirk story in Auction Reports this edition) supplied the very different contents to the 600-lot single-owner collection, white-glove sale held at Bellmans’ (22% buyer’s premium) Billingshurst saleroom on February 9.
Welsh antiques dealer enhances contemporary art show with loan of traditional furniture
20 February 2019A 19th century Welsh oak bureau is among the furniture that Carmarthenshire dealer Tim Bowen has lent to enhance a local exhibition on creativity.
Southport furniture dealer whose business is lifted by Runway Monday fair
18 February 2019A former cake factory site near Southport is the base for dealer Brett Griffiths, who is also one of the big fans of IACF’s fairs.
Fontainebleau auction to offer Napoleonic chair
18 February 2019This Empire-period gilt throne or ceremonial chair, measuring 3ft 11in (1.2m) high and 2ft 3in (76cm) wide, is one of the highlights of an April 7 sale of historic artefacts and memorabilia titled l’Empire à Fontainebleau.
Cross-section of great designs offered in Essex
18 February 2019Sworders offers late 19th and 20th century styles reflecting the period zeitgeist.
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