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Please enjoy this insight to the antique furniture market by one of our fine art and antiques valuers here at Quastel Associates; James Weedon
The English furniture market has, for some time now, suffered from a decrease in both demand and value. The 1990s saw unprecedented sales, the salerooms were packed to the gunnels with 18th and 19th century furniture and dealers were moving stock at a rate almost unimaginable today. Prices were constant and the number of un-sold lots on an auctioneers book were few.
From the beginning of the 21st century, as the market began to decline it became ever more selective. Lifestyles, living spaces and tastes were changing and with them demand for Georgian and Victorian interiors.
It is easy to cast a sweeping statement that brown furniture is worthless. Everything has a value but the fate of the unfashionable, impractical and unexceptional has seen an implacable decline.
It is however not all bad news, there are still some high market prices achieved and there are pieces that will still provide an investment opportunity and, perhaps more importantly, enjoyment for their owners. It is a buyers market and the value now, at least for the middle market, is in practicality and quality.
There is no set formula for the art of valuation, it is, as often quoted, an imprecise science, but there are certain factors that ensure interest. The key is to understand how a piece of furniture was made. If we focus on the middle years of the 18th century we begin to see furniture techniques in construction and decoration explode with innovation and design.
London workshops were competing with ever wealthy upper class patrons, each endeavouring to out do the other. Craftsmen, new techniques and materials from Europe and Asia were arriving on our shores, literally by the boat load, and the industry was thriving.
The legacies left by these great craftsman are objects of art which have survived the test of time. Furniture made using the finest materials available and the latest techniques and tools. Proportion, functionality and quality are as important now as they were then. For today’s market just add originality, rarity and traceable provenance to the mix and you will have a piece worth treasuring.
To find out more about an art and antiques valuation with Quastel Associates, please call us on 0207 253 1710 or click here.
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