When you consider that most antiques we buy are generally well over 100 years old, it is no wonder that we could possibly feel quite overwhelmed when trying to apply these treasured old things to modern day living.
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With the return of Charles II from France in 1660 and the arrival of Protestant Huguenot craftsmen escaping religious persecution in France, antique furniture making in England became much more sophisticated. With the advent of much finer cabinetry and the use of walnut rather than oak, new pieces of very fine furniture such as the bureau-bookcase were coming into being.
To begin with, the bureau-bookcase was essentially a writing table and slope with a fold down flap. Initially the table was supported on legs but gradually a solid set of drawers or chest of drawers was placed underneath. By the beginning of the 18th century, during the reign of Queen Anne, an antique cabinet was being placed on top of the desk flap. The cabinet usually had two (more…)
Collecting antiques is all down to individual choice. However collecting antique furniture is a little different. Of course, you can still sit and look at your latest acquisition and enjoy it, but these are antiques that you live with and use. It would be unusual (and unaffordable for most) to build up a collection of French 18th century commodes and there certainly would not be the room for two or three large break fronted antique bookcases in the average home. Antique furniture can be viewed, but it is also there to be sat on, sat around, at times slept on and used for storage. When you buy a piece of antique furniture it becomes part of the home. (more…)
It is the durability and functionality of antique furniture that makes it an ever popular antique for collectors. A set of six Chippendale antique dining chairs for example can be in constant use and never have to be replaced with something newer. The value and style of these pieces transcends fashion and taste and the quality of cabinetry is such that these pieces of furniture will endure for many hundreds of years after their mass produced equivalent has been put onto a skip.
Furnishing your home with antique furniture means (more…)
We are often told by auctioneers that religious antiques tend to fall rather flat at auctions. This is certainly an observation by Wayne Mattox from Antique Talk. He says that often devotional items that have been cherished by owners so in good order are brought in to be appraised, only to be told that although good quality, their item is not valuable.
However there are pieces of devotional furniture that (more…)
Proving that quality antiques will always hold their value, no matter what the state of the economy, an antique desk, antique chair and two antique bookcases that were once owned by Marshal Philippe Pétain sold for €23,000 to a body that has been set up to preserve his reputation.
The antique furniture was originally owned by a Jewish family of some standing in France during Word War II, but was seized by Pétain’s officials during the war. Pétain ran a government during the Second World War, one that collaborated with Hitler.
The antique furniture is from the 19th Century. It was stored with an antique dealer when the officials from Pétain’s government found it while looking for antique furniture for his offices. They took the antique furniture, but after the war ended the (more…)
Greek patterned Corinthian uprights, open shelves, panelled cupboards, often beautiful details of moulded egg and dart cornicing, set with lattice glass doors; the traditional breakfront antique bookcase where the central two doors come forward, give this majestic piece of furniture a 3D effect and the whole is set off on a plinth base.
Highly prized George III examples dating from around 1770 were often decorated by mirroring mahogany flame veneers on the lower drawers and cupboards to create stunning designs. Instead of a cupboard or drawer, some were built with integrated secretaires with all the accoutrements including pigeonholes, small drawers and (more…)