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.
Furniture prices continue their slow downward trend
11 February 2014There are very few positives to take from the latest findings of The Antique Collectors’ Club’s Annual Furniture Index (AFI). For reasons of fashion and function, the English antique furniture market remains in a parlous state and no category from early oak to Georgian mahogany held firm.
The End of an Era – Luton Hoo’s final sale
04 February 2014Cambridge auctioneers Cheffins have sold the residual contents of the Luton Hoo estate.
Barcelona chairs at Knowle sale
30 January 2014Knowle Auction Rooms will offer this pair of tan leather Barcelona chairs at their next sale.
Danish furniture pulled from sale over CITES
29 January 2014More than 80 lots of Danish rosewood furniture were withdrawn from Sworder’s January 28 sale of Decorative Art and Design after advice that their sale contravened the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna.
Art Deco sideboard at specialist design sale
23 January 2014This Art Deco walnut sideboard accompanied by a dining table is one of around 400 lots of Art Deco, Arts & Crafts and Danish design furniture on sale at Sworders of Stansted Mountfitchet later this month.
Fierce bidding for Stephenson’s bright spark in Sheffield auction
22 January 2014The unexpected high point of the latest sale held at Sheffield Auction Gallery was this rare survivor – one of two miner’s lamps entered for sale by a local vendor.
Church robbers strike again
13 January 2014A renewed appeal for information has been made after part of a medieval burial stone was stolen in Herefordshire as thieves targeting church monuments seem to have become active again.
Eastern promise of Lièvre lots
23 December 2013When it comes to the market, Edouard Lièvre’s Sino-Japanese furniture is usually a surefire candidate for a big price.
New saleroom pledges clearer standards in furniture cataloguing
27 August 2013A total commitment to clear and unambiguous cataloguing is the driving force behind a new auction business specialising in oak and country furniture in the North Yorkshire Dales.
The Daniels seat of learning
19 August 2013A late 20th century acanthus and shell-carved mahogany armchair with dolphin arms sold for £8600 when the contents of the Isle of Man home of watchmaker George Daniels were dispersed by Murrays in Douglas.
Louis Vuitton trunks sell at £24,000
25 June 2013The two-day House & Garden Sale at Mallams in Abingdon, Oxfordshire saw this near pair of early 20th century Louis Vuitton ‘malle armoire secretaires’ sell for £24,000.
Christopher Dresser Society launches
10 June 2013The Christopher Dresser Society will be launched at Teesside University on June 20.
The £20m Persian carpet
10 June 2013A sickle-leaf carpet from the William A. Clark collection has set a new auction record for a Persian carpet after selling for $30m (£20.5m) at Sotheby’s New York.
Benson light show at Lyon & Turnbull
13 May 2013The highlight of Lyon & Turnbull’s sale of Decorative Arts was this copper and brass electrolier made in the workshops of the designer and architect William Arthur Smith Benson c.1900.
Globes from 1816 take £50,000 in Wales
09 April 2013This pair of full-size library globes was the pick of more than 800 lots from a Pembrokeshire country house sold by Carmarthen firm Peter Francis.
Louis Vuitton trunk sells for £30,000
19 February 2013Vintage luggage made by Louis Vuitton was a fitting addition to this year’s aptly named ‘Travel in Style’ ski sale at Christie’s South Kensington.
Mackintosh cabinet offered without reserve takes £36,000
04 February 2013This Arts and Crafts music cabinet, entered into a recent sale at Robertson’s of Kinbuck, near Dunblane, without reserve, turned out to be a hitherto lost design by Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
Green shoots in market for dull brown?
29 January 2013Green shoots in the market for the most iconic of all English furniture was among the more encouraging findings of the Antique Furniture Price Index in 2012.
Stylish Finnish chair in decorative sale
18 January 2013Created by the 20th century Finnish architect and designer Alvar Aalto, this Paimio seat, with a model no. of 41, is to be included in Sworders’ Decorative Art Sale on January 29 in Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex.
Prayer rug appears at Oxford sale
11 January 2013This Shirvan Marasali prayer rug is part of a private collection of Caucasian rugs consigned to Mallams’ sale in Oxford on January 23.
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