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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Credence ready for revival

11 May 2020

Form, colour and condition are defining criteria in the oak market – and unfortunately this 17th century oak ‘credence’ offered by Claydon Auctioneers (19.5% buyer’s premium) in Middle Claydon, Buckinghamshire, on April 27 was a lacking on at least two fronts.

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Small piece of furniture attracts high level of interest at German auction

11 May 2020

Several surprising prices emerged at Geble (19% buyer’s premium) in Radolfzell on Lake Constance on April 25.

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Campaign furniture exhibition keeps trade on the move during lockdown

11 May 2020

Virtual exhibition showcases more than 80 items designed to be portable and flexible

Mobilier National in Paris

Items from France’s national furniture collection to be auctioned to raise funds for health service

04 May 2020

France’s Mobilier National, the body that looks after the national furniture collection, is auctioning 100 pieces from its holdings in order to support the country’s health service.

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Georgian card table at Chorley's stands out from the pack

04 May 2020

Such has been the fall in prices of Georgian card tables that it has become the norm for auctioneers to estimate most at well below £1000.

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Dr No rubs shoulders with caddies and dishes

04 May 2020

Among 83 lots of film and entertainment memorabilia offered at Lacy Scott & Knight (20% buyer’s premium) in Bury in St Edmunds was a British quad-size poster for 'Dr No', the first James Bond film starring Sean Connery released in 1962.

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Prince Charles investiture chairs emerge at Cardiff auction

04 May 2020

The investiture of the Prince of Wales in July 1969 was a pageant for the television age: held at Caernarfon Castle on a circular dais beneath a transparent Perspex canopy.

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Obituary: dealer Michael Fenn

04 May 2020

Michael Fenn was born on November 5, 1941, in Petts Wood, Kent, and died on Sunday, April 19, this year.

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Summers Place Auctions' last-minute decision to take remote bids only pays off

27 April 2020

The sale at garden statuary specialist Summers Place Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) in Billingshurst on March 24 (the day after lockdown) was among the first conducted under new government restrictions on social distancing.

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Candlesticks shine online at Michael Bowman's homespun sale

27 April 2020

A recent sale conducted by Michael Bowman (17.5% buyer’s premium) in Newton Abbot, Devon was a homespun affair – held in the auctioneer’s house, with his wife handling phone and commission bids and two assistants operating the bidding platforms remotely by way of a loudspeaker mobile phone link.

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Pottery expertise provides firm foundations as works by the Martin Brothers, De Morgan and Dresser emerge

27 April 2020

Held over three pre-lockdown days on March 5-7, Evesham saleroom Kingham & Orme’s (23% buyer’s premium) auction was rich in the best of English and European decorative arts.

Mahogany master’s chair

Classic English furniture among works from interior and garden designer’s collection at Sotheby’s ‘Style’ auction

21 April 2020

Items from the estate of interior decorator and garden designer Andrew Hartnagle and a collection of 20 lots of early English silver are two of the notable single-owner properties in Sotheby’s Style auction in New York running online until April 22.

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Architects of a house sale success at Dreweatts

20 April 2020

Contents of Palladian home in County Durham provide showpiece auction in Newbury

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Tiffany and Lalique link up for glass highlights

06 April 2020

Tiffany and Lalique glassware from a private New York City collector provided some of the highlights in the Clarke Auction Gallery (25% buyer’s premium) online and phone bidding sale.

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Victorian travel wardrobe draws interest as it reappears at auction

06 April 2020

This deluxe Victorian travel accessory is a ‘campaign wardrobe’ made by Robinson & Sons of Ilkley, Yorkshire.

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Writing table with an English country house in mind

06 April 2020

This early-19th century mahogany writing table comes from a private New York City and Southampton, New York, collection of English country house furniture to be offered by Nye & Company.

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Call for collectors, dealers and antiques centres to feature in Drew Pritchard’s next Salvage Hunters series

02 April 2020

Architectural antiques dealer Drew Pritchard hosts TV show ‘Salvage Hunters’ and is set to film the next series later this year.

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Shell out for unusual furniture

30 March 2020

As a young man in the 1960s, British creative designer Anthony Redmile (b.1937) took the London interior design scene by storm. Although his work was hugely eclectic, he became best known for his quirky designs taken from the animal kingdom.

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Kashmir woollen design is surprise top seller as a family estate comes to Yorkshire auction

23 March 2020

Long unseen material from the country home of an ancient English family brought some estimate-demolishing five-figure bids at Morphets (17.5% buyer’s premium) including a genuine sleeper.

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Chandelier shines in Los Angeles

23 March 2020

A highlight of the sale held by Andrew Jones (25% buyer’s premium) in Los Angeles on February 23 was this impressive 24-light cut and moulded glass chandelier with a 6ft 6in (1.98m) drop.

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