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.
Mid Century art and design show market strengths in upstate New York sale
20 November 2023Line Vautrin (1913-97) began her career selling her cast metal jewellery door-to-door.
Korean screen heads to US institution at £175,000
20 November 2023This 18th century Korean eight-panel screen depicts a subject borrowed from Ming prototypes: a banquet honouring the famed Tang dynasty general Guo Ziyi.
Imperial power told through a £110,000 hardwood chest
20 November 2023A Chinese ‘dragon’ box fashioned in the prized Asian wood zitan sold for £110,000 at Sworders (25% buyer’s premium) on November 3.
Top stories this week including concerns over new rules for selling upholstered furniture
19 November 2023The most viewed stories on this website over the last week included news of how the antiques trade may be hit by government proposals regarding post-1950 upholstered furniture.
Trade unaware as new furniture fire safety rules are mooted
13 November 2023UK government proposals to alter regulations for post-1950 upholstered furniture have caught the art and antiques trade unaware.
Interiors: Put on a road show
13 November 2023The dealer ‘hub’ of Lillie Road is renowned among interior designers but now is the time to spread the word
Penguin bookshelf on offer at Bedford auction
13 November 2023The Penguin Bookshelf was a collaboration between Penguin Books and the London furniture-maker Beaver and Tapley. The design was debuted to retailers at the 1955 Furniture Exhibition when something close to 3000 orders were placed.
Inside story on Ombersley Court
13 November 2023A £2m collection of English country house furnishings from Ombersley Court, a Grade I-listed country house near Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire, comes for sale at Christie’s this month.
Suffolk House Antiques – going out with a bang
13 November 2023Andrew Singleton of Suffolk House Antiques is having his final selling exhibition in his shop in Yoxford from November 18-December 23.
Frames galore at Stowmarket sale
13 November 2023Stowmarket firm Bishop & Miller holds a timed online sale of 104 picture frames that ends on November 19.
Selected highlights of the new furniture fire safety proposals
13 November 2023'Smarter Regulation: Fire safety of domestic upholstered furniture' was consulted on by the government between August 2-October 24.
Howard & Sons sitting comfortably
13 November 2023Chairs and sofas by Howard & Sons are a pricey niche market these days, largely immune to the varying fortunes of the wider market for Victorian and Edwardian furniture.
Egg breaks out of hotel confines
13 November 2023Famous chair created as just an edition of 50 went on to become signature product of Danish design house
An Aesthetic Movement cabinet is among five lots to watch
06 November 2023With estimates from £150, here are five previews of items coming up at auction this week.
Table suitable for Grand Tour big buyer
06 November 2023No 19th-century Grand Tourist would have considered his or her visit to Rome complete without a day spent shopping for micromosaics. Most would return home with a small box, a paperweight or a plaque.
Gatehouse panels greeted visitors to earl’s new country seat
06 November 2023Hugely decorative, impeccably provenanced and selling at an impressive sum, a pair of moulded relief panels were another of autumn’s Coade stone stars
Pick of the week: Biram’s safety lamp shines at auction
30 October 2023Lot 57 at Sutton Hill Farm Country Auctions on October 21 comprised ‘2 framed paintings, signed J Cole, one other’, taking a hammer price of £8. Lot 59, a ‘vintage Sesame Street Big Bird piano toy’ (in working order) made it into double figures, at £14.
Kime flies when you’re bidding
30 October 2023Focus on three days of dispersing the collection of renowned interior designer and antiques dealer
5 Questions with carpet dealer Christopher Legge
30 October 2023Christopher Legge of Legge Carpets is among the exhibitors at the Cotswold Art & Antiques Dealers’ Association Fair. He specialises in high-quality handmade carpet and textiles especially tribal weavings from Iran and central Asia.
European modernist rug owned by music executive Stein sells in New York auction
30 October 2023An Ivan Da Silva Bruhns rug from the estate of Sire Records founder and art collector Seymour Stein outperformed expectations at Capsule Auctions’ (25% buyer’s premium) Art & Design sale in New York on September 27.
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