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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The web shop window: Danish drop-leaf table

04 July 2022

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

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Pick of the week: Bidders take rare chance to dine with Pugin and Minton

27 June 2022

Two plates from a Minton dinner service designed by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812-52) for his personal use appeared for sale in Derbyshire last week.

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Museums make 300 new purchases thanks to Art Fund

27 June 2022

Close to 300 objects and works of art found permanent homes in UK museums and galleries thanks to contributions from the Art Fund charity, a new report reveals.

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Capital letters: ‘It’s all happening here and it’s fun to be part of it’

27 June 2022

Don’t forget to visit London’s shops and galleries when in town for the multi-dealer events

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Decision to use Oxfordshire house for viewing pays off with some strong results

27 June 2022

The tills are ringing once more at Dreweatts (25% buyer’s premium). Under the ownership of the Gurr Johns group, the Newbury firm sold by Stanley Gibbons for £1.25m in 2017 has received a welcome shot in the arm.

Paul Reeves

Hints on Household Taste: Interior designer and antiques dealer to sell collection at auction

22 June 2022

Collector, interior designer and antiques dealer Paul Reeves is selling more than 300 items from his stock and collection at auction this month.

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Chests from four centuries apart

20 June 2022

These two oak boarded chests, made to similar techniques four centuries apart, were offered for sale recently.

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Glasgow style mirror flies over estimate in Ayr auction

20 June 2022

This Scottish Arts & Crafts brass framed mirror, above, is the epitome of the so-called Glasgow Style.

Birdie Fortescue’s home

Cheffins teams up with interior designer Birdie Fortescue for upcoming auction

16 June 2022

Auction house Cheffins has worked with Birdie Fortescue, who runs her own homewares brand, to show how antiques can work in any home.

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Previews: Furniture and works of art

13 June 2022

Highlights from a busy summer for auction houses and dealers.

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Previews: Design

13 June 2022

Stand-out lots on offer in upcoming summer auctions and from dealers.

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Still a demand for coal after all

06 June 2022

Simple white Wiener Werkstätte boxes epitomise fine design offered at trio of sales

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Peacock chair struts to five figures

06 June 2022

Inspired by British Windsor chairs, the Danish designer Hans J Wegner created his so-called Peacock chair in 1947.

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Majorelle arrowhead table points to top-quality Art Nouveau

06 June 2022

The latter years of the 19th century and the first of the 20th marked the most productive era of the French designer Louis Majorelle.

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ATG letter: Time and place mysteries

06 June 2022

I am hoping that someone may be able to solve a chair ‘mystery’. It was most recently from the collection of Bernard Nevill at Philip Webb’s ‘West House’ (designed and built for artist George Price Boyce in 1868-69), also known as being the set for ‘Uncle Monty’s House’ in the 1987 film Withnail and I.

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Furniture sits comfortably in the Dales

30 May 2022

Pitched at a modest £300-500, a harlequin set of eight Charles II joined oak back stools was one of a number of successes among the furniture offered at Tennants’ (22% buyer’s premium) Leyburn sale.

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Howard armchairs a hit with buyers

30 May 2022

Chairs 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.

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The web shop window: 18th century armchairs

30 May 2022

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

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Masterpiece to include Wrest Park treasures

23 May 2022

Clock specialist Carter Marsh will dedicate much of its stand at Masterpiece London to the third and final part of the remarkable John C Taylor collection of horological items.

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Garden designer who collected carpets

23 May 2022

In Massachusetts, auction firm Skinner (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) held the first of a series of sales given over to the carpet collection of Jim Dixon with an online session from April 25-May 6 and a live sale on May 4.

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