TVADA Bookshelf

who whilst house hunting in a large block of flats in London saw four different properties. Each one was decorated in the same style using the same furniture and she realised then how dreadfully boring it all was and that she wanted to be more individual and stamp her own style on the house she bought. As a result of this, the market is beginning to stir and I think that possibly within a year, it will take off again. More people are waking up to the fact that pieces such as a good 19th century chest of drawers that has been around for 150 plus years and will be around for at least another 150 years, are attractive, individual, practical, stylish, and above all, good value for money.

But how to buy these items without over paying? There are many “antiques guides” on the market but unfortunately the price ranges they give are very varied and do not give the first time buyer an indication of the price to pay. What they do however, is help the buyer decide what style they want. Having decided this, my first recommendation is to trawl around your local antiques dealers. They don’t usually bite, so talk to them and find one who will look after you and is prepared to spend time with you explaining the ins and outs of different items.

Set a budget Obviously it is important to set a budget but if you find a piece that you fall in love with that is slightly over your budget, my advice is always to go for it. There is a well-known saying in this trade, you never regret paying too much for something, you only regret your bargains. One has to realise that there are hundreds of dealers on the road daily searching for antiques and if anything is a real bargain that is “right”, we are going to snap it up. I can assure you that the majority of the so-called bargains clients tell me that they have bought turn out to be fake or “wrong”.

The age of an item does not always determine the price. A 400 year old item is not necessarily going to cost more money than a good early 20th century piece. For example, there is a lot of mid 19th century “Victorian” furniture on the market that was mass produced to fill the demand from the rich merchants furnishing their houses. Because the market was so hungry for furniture at this time a lot of it was made quickly and rather badly. However, at the end of the century and during the Edwardian era people were once again demanding quality and individuality, as a result some of the wonderful mahogany and walnut Edwardian pieces on the market today were beautifully made and represent excellent value.

Look out for breaks and hidden restoration When buying furniture always check for, especially in chairs, breaks to the legs or back. In the right light, these will normally show up. You will find an antique dealer always carries a torch in his pocket to check for these breaks which are sometimes hard to see if they have been well restored.

Also be aware that, particularly on dining tables and chest of drawers, there is a tendency to “skim” the surface. This is where the piece in question has suffered water damage, scratching or other severe damage and a bad restorer has literally taken a sanding disc to the piece and sanded down any imperfections. This skimming takes with it all the original patination and polish to take the surface right back to the base wood. When the piece is then re-polished, you never get back the glorious patination and depth of polish that had been built up over time and looking at the piece, you can see all the grain and a very dull lustre appearance. It will take many years (and much elbow grease) to get this wonderful waxed patination back again.

If buying anything with two parts, such as a secretaire, bureau bookcase or chest on chest, stand at the side and check that the veneers on the top and bottom halves run all the way up the whole piece. This shows that the veneer is from the same section of timber and indicates that the piece is not two unrelated parts put together or a “marriage”. If it is a piece with drawers, open the drawers in the top and bottom section to see if the dovetails are the same. If there is any stringing and inlay around the cupboard doors or drawers to the top, make quite sure that they are identical to the detailing around the bottom section.

Check the provenance. Most of us have heard the term provenance. Provenance is a very difficult thing to prove and generally speaking it is only the better, more expensive pieces that come with a provenance. The provenance is the history of the piece, for example an original invoice showing who it was made for, and who by, or house inventory records detailing it. Some pieces on the market today are signed or stamped by various cabinet makers, a notable one is Gillows but you cannot always rely on these stamps to be genuine. An unscrupulous dealer might make a stamp up to mark a piece of furniture and so raise its value. What is important is if it is in the style of a well-known cabinetmaker and the quality is good.

Finally, a very good tip is to stand back and look at a piece from a distance. If it looks wrong to you and out of proportion, trust your instinct, it quite possibly is. The great cabinetmakers of the past always had well balanced furniture designs.

The rule of thumb is to buy from a good antiques dealer, many of who are members of associations such at LAPADA, BADA, TVADA etc. Why not come along to Hallidays magnificent historic 15,000 square foot of showrooms in Dorchester on Thames where there will be over 1000 lots to view at their forthcoming auction on November 21st and 22nd, encompassing everything from Fine Art and Antiques to textiles and curios. Viewing will take place from the 18th November through to the morning of the sale days.
Contact them on 01865 340028 to order a catalogue.