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.

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Marathon Withers collection sale brings £1.28m rewards

18 March 2024

“He stored everything like Russian dolls, everything packed away into something else."

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Chareau furniture sells well at auction

11 March 2024

A fresh-to-the-market ensemble of rosewood furniture by French designer and architect Pierre Chareau (1883- 1950) met with great enthusiasm when it went under the hammer.

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Top stories this week including news of a rediscovered George II table making 100 times estimate

10 March 2024

The most viewed stories on this website over the last week included news of a fine quality Kentian console table bringing remarkable competition at an auction in Reading.

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All the fun of the fair: John Barker collection comes to Essex auction

05 March 2024

A collector of late 19th and early 20th century fairground art is offering 47 examples at Sworders.

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Rediscovered George II period table takes 100-times estimate at Berkshire auction

04 March 2024

A timed online auction at Thimbleby & Shorland of Reading included this fine quality Kentian console table that had come from a probate sale in London.

Regency table

A Regency table from the collection of TV star Drew Pritchard is among five lots to watch

04 March 2024

With estimates from £100, here are five previews of items coming up at auction this week.

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Chair that was a £15,000 single star

04 March 2024

The high-flyer in Dreweatts’ (26/25/20/15% buyer’s premium) sale of the contents of Collections from Cairness House and a Wimpole Street townhouse was the set of six Chippendale chairs made for Brocket Hall that sold for £95,000 (see News, ATG No 2629).

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Huge demand at auction for the extensive collection of the late George Withers

26 February 2024

Buyers descend on the late George Withers collection in Somerset

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Five questions: Ed Morris of 1923 Antiques

26 February 2024

Ed Morris runs 1923 Antiques with his father Roy and is one of the exhibitors at the upcoming Bath Decorative Antiques Fair

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Italian design takes centre stage in German auction

26 February 2024

Italian design is in the spotlight at Quittenbaum in Munich on March 19.

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Historic family collection from Tudor manor house comes to auction in Dorset

23 February 2024

The contents of Sandford Orcas Manor, a Tudor manor house occupied by just two families over the past 470 years, is coming to auction next month.

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Fascinating backstory of Mouseman furniture owned by same family since new comes to light

19 February 2024

Mouseman furniture is a hugely popular if not exactly uncommon sight at auction but it is not so often you see a group with a backstory as comprehensive as that coming up at a Buckinghamshire saleroom.

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Five questions with furniture dealer Toby Taylor

19 February 2024

Toby Taylor launched Taylors Direct in the Cotswolds around three year s ago.

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Chareau furniture includes chair style selected by famous clients

19 February 2024

An ensemble of modernist rosewood furniture by the designer and architect Pierre Chareau (1883-1950) is to be offered by Valoir Pousse-Cornet auction house.

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Lalique style leads selection of design classics at Chiswick Auctions

19 February 2024

Lalique, the epitome of inter-war glamour, took centre stage at the Chiswick Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) Design sale.

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Antiques dealers victorious in first step of saving London’s historic gas lamps

16 February 2024

Two dealers have declared a victory in their quest to save historic gas lamps in Westminster.

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Classic Ashbee piano comes with fine provenance

12 February 2024

Heading Sworders’ (25% buyer’s premium) January 16 Design sale in Stansted Mountfitchet was a recently rediscovered version of one of the best-known Guild of Handicraft designs.

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LARTA exhibitors report strong sales and new buyers

12 February 2024

Nestled above The Decorative Fair, the London Antique Rug & Textile Art Fair (LARTA) had a successful run with new and returning exhibitors reporting strong sales to trade and private buyers.

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‘Patience and taste personified’: more lots from the outstanding Ann and Gordon Getty collection

12 February 2024

New York auctioneer remembers Ann and Gordon Getty as the latest lots come to market

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Bony slept here: Souvenirs from Napoleon's surrender come to auction

09 February 2024

A cache of memorabilia from the descendants of Captain Frederick Lewis Maitland – the officer Napoleon surrendered to aboard HMS Bellerophon on July 15, 1815 – is coming to auction.

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