There is no doubt that sitting upright in a Victorian wing chair is much better for (more…)
Thomas Chippendale in 18th century antique furniture terms was a real superstar of his day and his designs were much (more…)
At a time when follies were being built for no purpose rather than just to decorate the landscape and all sorts of weird and wonderful inventions were being exploited for financial gain, antique furniture itself was (more…)
The balloon back chair is one of the many success stories of the Victorian era.
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When we listen to experts waxing lyrical over antique furniture, the French terminology can often send us into a state of panic. What is a buffet, chiffonier, escritoire or armoire?
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For the purists in antique furniture collectors and enthusiasts, although sideboards from the 1970’s may not be considered hugely collectable yet in antiques terms, painting them is rather like returning to the 1960’s and its penchant for painting everything that was fussy and Victorian white. The result of this was the next forty years were spent stripping everything back to the original pine or mahogany and losing all those patinas in the process. Admittedly some of the Victorian pine furniture was already painted, but if left alone, would have taken on that shabby chic that many are so fond of now.
BBC2’s Cracking Antiques (more…)
It might surprise you to know that the concept of keeping up with the Joneses is not a relatively new phenomenon. One-upmanship can be linked back to ancient African tribes where the chief sat on a stool not necessarily for comfort, but so that he could be ‘one up’ or a foot above everyone else.
In Britain the stool was more for the common man rather than the local chief. It became more elaborate as a 12th century Gothic piece of furniture, the term ‘Gothic’ originally attributable to the Goths. The two ends were connected by a stretcher and the whole thing was wedged together. Eventually the end supports were replaced with four turned legs.
The original Gothic antique chair in Britain was very grand and more like a throne. In the great hall, where everything in those days was communal, there would be no more than three chairs; one for the lord, his lady and perhaps a spare for any (more…)
Like Rococo, the Regency period actually only spanned ten years or so (1810-1820), and only truly existed during the incapacity of George III where the Prince Regent acted as proxy until his father’s death. However, its styling influence on antique furniture actually spanned nearly forty years (1795-1830).
There were two strands to Regency furniture design in England, both following classical lines; the French taste which imitated Greek and Roman architectural styling as accurately as possible, and English Regency which followed French Empire which was influenced heavily by ancient Egypt. The designer Thomas Hope faithfully followed ancient Greek and Roman styles and introduced classical furniture pieces such as vase stands and scroll end couches, where designer Rudolf Ackermann followed the ancient Egyptian style brought about by Napoleon’s Syrian and Egyptian campaigns where dining chairs had scimitar shaped legs and turned rope back rails.
Other pieces of Regency furniture were varying sizes of tripod supported (more…)
Although the Victorian antique dining chair, perhaps more than any other piece of furniture during this period, tends to reflect the styles of an earlier age, they were certainly built for comfort. Their construction was generally heavier than their period counterparts and more curvaceous machine styling overrode the sharper hand carved design features of earlier pieces.
By 1840 comfort was key and a revival of French rococo styling created an opportunity for furniture manufacturers to produce rounder backs and the balloon back chair as a part of sets of six, for dining, began to be made in large quantities. These chairs particularly were sculptured to fit into the sitter’s back and were robust enough to withstand long hours at the dining table.
It was the introduction of mass production techniques that refined turning and jointing to produce (more…)
According to a recent article from The Times Online, antiques sales have dropped by 21% in 2009 as a direct result of the credit crisis. It has also been a difficult year for antique furniture, with prices dropping by as much as 7%. However, the industry is starting to fight back.
London, regarded as the trading centre for the top end antiques market, is set to see the launch of some international antiques fairs this year. An antiques industry commentator, Ivan Macquisten of Antiques Trade Gazette, said:
‘There is scope for more (fairs) to come in. Whether they will all do well is another matter.’
It was the sale of an Eileen Gray art deco chair in Paris, from the estate of Yves Saint Laurent, that bucked the trend back in February last year where a bidder paid a record £19m for the antique chair. However, this was a high point in (more…)