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....
desks
Horner dining set sells for more than $100,000, vintage Tiffany dominates lamp selection
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...
Check the drawers for the first sign of age on antique furniture
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...
Massachusetts’ finest estates and collections coming May 21, 2011
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...
Antique furniture, like old cars, can shed some parts when the going gets rough
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...
At auction, ‘old furniture’ doesn’t always mean ‘antique furniture’
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...
Crusty New England antiques collector wants his original finish
Over at Martin Willis’ blog he delves into the harrowing and e-mail-fight-worthy topic of antique furniture refinishing. If ever there be a subject that draws sharp opinions it’s debating when/if/why to refinish a piece. I give him credit for generously relating (aka confessing) his past transgressions. But are there any collectors who haven’t snapped...
Atlanta antiques dealer carves out market for Georgian style furniture
Antique furniture comes in many styles and everyone is different when it comes to decorating their homes. Some may like Mid-century Modern or Victorian styles; while others may enjoy Duncan Phyfe or Georgian furniture. Georgian is a period of design in English furniture from 1714 through the early 1800s. It...
How to Discern Period Antique Furniture vs Centennial or Later
Check out this fascinating entry on the differences between period American and English Georgian furniture over at Martin Willis‘ Antique Auction Forum. He writes: “Centennial furniture was born in the traditions mentioned above debuting at the 1876 International Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. There was a nostalgia for the developing years of our country and...
Furniture Detective: Hardware on vintage beds crucial to its design and function
Beds are of great interest to most people. We spend more time in bed than we do anywhere else, except maybe at work, so where we spend roughly one-third of our lives should be of great interest. In Colonial America, mobility was a key factor in bed design. America has been...