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: Maison Jansen floor lamp

15 November 2021

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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5 Questions: Furniture dealer Holly Johnson

15 November 2021

Holly Johnson Antiques opened a showroom in Knutsford, Cheshire in summer 2020 and Johnson has been trading independently for 28 years via fairs and online. The dealership is run by Johnson and her husband Ben Aardewerk with a small team.

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How to go green in Glasgow

15 November 2021

Be inspired by the recent COP26 summit and buy sustainable, recycled items in the host city

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Valuation brings home comfort

15 November 2021

Anglo-Chinese huanghuali bureau cabinet was spotted just down the road from saleroom

Greystokes Castle

Greystoke Castle contents to be sold at auction in Cumbria

13 November 2021

The contents of Grade II* listed Greystoke Castle near Penrith is coming to auction at Mitchells in Cockermouth with a selection of fine paintings, furniture and Chinese porcelain.

Chippendale invoice

Chippendale-Garrick invoice sold to society

08 November 2021

A previously unknown bill for furnishings supplied by Thomas Chippendale (1718-79) has been bought at auction on behalf of The Chippendale Society (TCS).

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Personal desk of designer Lafon offered at Tajan

08 November 2021

The personal desk set of the artist/decorator Paul Dupré Lafon (1900-71) will feature in the sale of Decorative Arts to be held by Tajan on November 23.

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Shipshape designs and innovative lighting at Italian design sale in Paris

08 November 2021

Two major names in Mid-century Italian design, Gio Ponti and Angelo Lelli, had top honours in a recent Italian design sale.

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Peake performance: the master carver recognised

08 November 2021

Great-granddaughter reunited with great-grandfather's work at The Chelsea Antiques Fair

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Strahan bed potted by eagle-eyed bidders

01 November 2021

The frame to this Irish mahogany day bed with its bold paw feet and eagle uprights bears both the Strahan name and number stamp as well as an original paper trade label.

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Steel string guitar strikes a cord in Lincolnshire auction

01 November 2021

Bought in 1952 by a semi-pro Skegness musician who played with East Coast seaside entertainers, this steel string guitar got a big show of hands at Louth auction house John Taylors (18% buyer’s premium).

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English oak took root in the US

01 November 2021

The opening 320-plus lots of Thomaston Place Auction Galleries’ next sale, Autumn Majestic, from November 12-14 in Maine, comprise the works from the estate of New York advertising photographer Frank Cowan (1934-2003).

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Scottish ballet impresario's collection in step with decorative fashion

27 October 2021

It was not to high-end purist tastes, but ballet pioneer’s collection reeled in eager bidders

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Christopher Dresser finds his time and place

27 October 2021

Christopher Dresser (1834-1904) designed two electroplated claret or water jugs for Elkington & Co of Birmingham in 1885 – both of them daring designs inspired by vessels from antiquity.

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Chippendale chairs spotted in Sussex

27 October 2021

Given that most antique furniture at auction tends to be good value only for the buyer these days, one can perhaps understand why it occasionally does not always receive the attention it once merited from auctioneers and valuers. As a result, occasionally a special item slips through.

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Wartime work showing soldiers in Normandy joins Olympia fair highlights

27 October 2021

A “vanishingly rare” oil by Barnett Freedman (1901-58) showing a newly liberated Normandy town shortly after D-Day is among the star exhibits at the Winter Art & Antiques Fair at Olympia in London.

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The web shop window: 1960s rosewood worktable by Danish architect Finn Juhl

27 October 2021

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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Christopher Dresser jug stars in our weekly pick of five auction highlights

22 October 2021

ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a Christopher Dresser electroplated jug that made 10-times estimate in Eastbourne.

c.1770 commode

Midlands furniture dealer sells 18th century commode to Temple Newsam in Leeds

19 October 2021

Thomas Coulborn & Sons has celebrated BADA Week by announcing the sale of an 18th century commode to Leeds Museums & Galleries for close to £200,000.

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‘Poohsticks’ bridge will return to Hundred Acre Wood after auction

18 October 2021

The original ‘Poohsticks’ bridge from AA Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh books is to return to the ‘Hundred Acre Wood’ after it was bought by Buckhurst Park estate owner Lord De La Warr.

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