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.
Bureau ‘given by Churchill’ to admired Sir Bindon
21 April 2025Estimated at €1000, this 19th century Irish mahogany bureau with a link to Sir Winston Churchill sold for €9500 (£8000) at Fonsie Mealy (25% buyer’s premium) in Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny.
Idiosyncratic inspiration from the early years of the ‘age of mahogany’
21 April 2025A number of hall chairs of this idiosyncratic type from the early years of the ‘age of mahogany’ are known and have appeared on the market.
Pitch proves perfect second time around as table sells successfully
21 April 2025What a difference three years and an estimate can make.
West Country oak settle in demand in East Anglian auction
21 April 2025The second part of the Beedham Collection – a fine array of early oak furniture and associated works of art from the Derbyshire dealing family – came for sale at Bishop & Miller (25% buyer’s premium) in Glandford, Norfolk, on March 19.
Pietra Dura is a top find of Bishop’s House
21 April 2025The contents of the Bishop’s House in Newry, standing on the Clanrye river in counties Down and Armagh, were sold by Victor Mee (20% buyer’s premium) earlier this year.
Moller chairs sit nicely together
21 April 2025A recent sale at Burstow & Hewitt (20% buyer’s premium) in Battle, East Sussex was led by six Danish rosewood dining chairs designed by Niels Otto Moller for JL Moller.
The Sunnyside furniture project
14 April 2025The few surviving pieces of furniture designed by Archibald Knox were mainly produced at the Sunnyside Workshops in Douglas, founded by Knox with his friend and patron Wilson James Ashburner in 1899.
Ceramics star among lots from Antiques Roadshow expert and former Christie's specialist
14 April 2025Collection amassed by Christie’s veteran Hugo Morley-Fletcher includes ‘special group’ of porcelain
Modern furniture made with the Niemeyer touch
14 April 2025As with Pierre Jeanneret and his vision for Chandigarh in India, Oscar Niemeyer (1907-2012) is famous for his involvement in the city of Brasilia as chief architect.
Cotswolds School lessons in style
12 April 2025The Art Deco design movement found a unique expression in Cotswolds School furniture - one that sought to blend clean lines with traditional English materials and craftsmanship.
Memories of Betty and her business
12 April 2025Auctioneer and valuer Clive Stewart-Lockhart has written a new biography of one of British Art Deco’s foremost figures - his great aunt Mary Stewart Lockhart, better known as Betty Joel (1894-1985).
….and Cotswolds dealers in Chelsea
07 April 2025The Cotswold Art & Antiques Dealers’ Association (CADA) held its first London fair - Cotswold Art Antiques Chelsea - at Chelsea Old Town Hall on the King’s Road from March 20-23.
Isokon and Summers paved the way for Modernism
07 April 2025The London-based design company Isokon, which produced furniture by Wells Coates and Marcel Breuer, and Gerald Summers’ firm Makers of Simple Furniture both explored the radical possibilities of lamination.
Cotswolds event coming up in the Cotswolds…
07 April 2025With the first CADA fair to be held in Chelsea receiving positive feedback (see story also in this edition), we now look ahead to a much more local event available for traders
Charles II marquetry table comes to market after decades
01 April 2025What has five legs and could have given pleasure to British royalty? A table by Gerrit Jensen, of course.
Mouseman works going, going, gong in Yorkshire
31 March 2025The craftsman-made Yorkshire oak furniture of Robert Thompson continues to be in high demand at auction.
Giltwood mirrors reflect demand
31 March 2025Georgian giltwood mirrors were the big winners at Doyle New York’s (28% buyer’s premium) January 28 auction of British and European art and antiques.
Traders toast fresh Denbies set-up in Surrey
24 March 2025Sunbury Antiques Fairs has successfully taken over the running of the event staged in the Surrey hills
Impressive 19th century furniture among highlights at sale of works from Welsh estate Plas Teg
19 March 2025Welsh auction house Rogers Jones conducted its largest house clearance in over 30 years this month – the principal contents of Plas Teg in Flintshire.
Modern furniture made with the Niemeyer touch
11 March 2025As with Pierre Jeanneret and his vision for Chandigarh in India, Oscar Niemeyer (1907-2012) is famous for his involvement in the city of Brasilia as chief architect.
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