An antique discovery clock auction, Aug. 27, 2011 is loaded with more than 500 rare and vintage clocks from a single-owner collection. Included in the sale are American large wall clocks and case clocks, grandfather clocks and examples from England, France and Germany. This more than just a clock action. Tucked inside the sale are pendulums, weights, watchmakers’ benches and multi-drawer cabinets, watch and clock ephemera and advertising signs.
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Former FBI agent and author Robert Wittman’s first-ever seminar June 13, 2011 on how the art business can protect itself against the growing threat of art crime attracted 13 attendees, including Antique Trader columnist Caroline Ashleigh. The week, consisting of five days of instruction and discussion with field experts, was a one-of-a-kind seminar in which each participant personally interacted with the material and presenters. The result was a seminar described by participants as unmatched in quality of topics, expert presentations, and atmosphere.
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At a time when furniture is down in most circles, a June 14 auction in Los Angeles delivered what bidders wanted in their antique furniture: quality, variety and provenance. A Louis XVI style gilt bronze mounted mahogany suite of bedroom furniture, dating to the late 19th century, sold for $73,200 and a ; a Louis XVI style gilt bronze mounted marquetry bois satine and George III mahogany secretary bookcase from the estate of director, writer, producer and actor, Tim Whelan and his wife, actress and Los Angeles interior decorator, Miriam Seegar, sold for $30,500.
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Affordable paintings, antique prints and contemporary works by listed artists are featured along with country Americana in the July 27-28, 2011 Skinner discovery auction. Tucked inside this month’s sale is an interesting collection of etchings, charcoal drawings and sketches by New England artists.
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Furniture Detective Fred Taylor asks after a piece of antique furniture is stripped, what happens next? The purist will say to finish it in some exotic concoction of wax and oil and leave it alone. The hack next door will recommend three coats of tinted gloss polyurethane rubbed between coats with fine steel wool. The professional will say: "Sand it first." Sand it? Why in the world would you sand it? Because preparation is 90 percent of finishing, and the best finish in the world won’t look good if the piece isn’t properly prepared for the finish. So what exactly is the objective of the sanding process?
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A monumental circa-1890 R.J. Horner figural carved mahogany 12-piece dining room set soared to $100,300 at a cataloged auction held May 21, 2011 by Fontaine’s Auction Gallery. The set was the top lot in the sale, which attracted a large amount of Tiffany lamps and decorative objects. An unusual Tiffany Studios bronze crab inkwell with an exceptional brown and deep red patina with green highlights went for $23,600.
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Furniture Detective columnist Fred Taylor says in an effort to determine the range of the age of a piece of furniture, we have the beginnings of a built-in time line if the piece has drawers. A drawer is a fairly difficult thing to build when you get right down to it. It is a five sided box that must fit perfectly within a case (a six-sided box) and be removable on demand without binding or breaking either the drawer or the case.
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More than 500 lots of top market antique furniture, vintage lighting, fine art, decorative accessories, period furniture, clocks, estate jewelry and watches, including a 12-piece R.J. Horner figural carved dining set is set to light up a May 21 sale in Pittsfield, Mass. The sale is punctuated by several pieces from Tiffany studios. A key find is a bronze inkwell with the fine figure of a crab, its claws reaching forward, pinching the coiled handles of the inkwell pot mounted with an oyster shell.
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One thing to bear in mind while searching for your next antique furniture treasure is that this stuff, by definition, has been around the block a few times, and the road has not always been smooth. Sometimes, old furniture, like old cars, tends to shed some parts when the going gets rough. And while some missing pieces are perfectly obvious, others aren’t, and it takes a little detective work to confirm that vague feeling that something is awry.
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A topic that invariably generates a lot of heat and a lot less light is the question of what qualifies as an antique. The use of the word itself is a little odd in that it is one of the few words we use to describe an object that doesn’t have anything to do with the physical characteristics of the object.
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