Posted by MarcusAdams on Apr 22, 2009 in
Antique Rants 
The entrance to the BADA Fair at the Dule of York Square, London.
Having just tentatively completed the BADA Fine Art & Antique Fair in London, we come away feeling that there may be a degree of truth in Mr Brown’s tales of “green shoots” returning to the British economy. Whilst attendance and interest in the fair was high, the magic sales were a slow to get off the mark. On the opening day we made some headway, however did find a slight reluctance in the decision making process by many visitors. It was though people wanted to make business and do deals, but yet there was a mysterious force keeping their hands away from cheque books and wallets.
As the days progresses, the initial reluctance started turning into commitment and things began selling. It was though clients were making doubly sure that they wanted something before making the final decision. One customer who bought an important piece after the fair closed, commented that he “.. could only put up with a bear market for so long, as it became tediously boring after a while…”
Interestingly many of the long established large London dealers did not start hearing the scratching of fountain pen on cheque till well into the fair, if they did at all. We on the other hand started slowly and gradually gained momentum, with two large sales coming after the close on Tuesday evening. All in all we were very happy with our BADA outing, despite the doom mongers that we still hear prolifically on TV, radio and in the press.
Maybe Gordon is right, there are some “green shoots” appearing in the economy.
Tags: antique, bada, dealer, exhibition, fair, grosvenor, london, olympia
Posted by MarcusAdams on Feb 22, 2009 in
Antique Rants
So where does the wonderful pieces you see at an Antique Fair come from?
Many people ask this question when buying antiques, I am sure we would all like our new art and antique acquisitions to be provenanced to a stately home where it has remained since its manufacture, generally over 200 years ago. Well quite frankly buys like this are few and far between.
Most dealers do not want to divulge the immediate source of stock they are currently selling, however are willing to mention which part of the country the piece has come from, or if we are allowed by the vendor, be a little more specific than that.
Most antiques that are being sold today are ones that were sold in maybe the late 60’s and early 70’s, and have not always been wanted by later generations. So they are disposed of either directly to the trade, via a house clearance or through auction.
At Millington Adams we tend only to acquire privately sourced stock, the vehicle we use to perform this task could be varied including the three ways mentioned above. We are particular for instance when we buy at auction to know where the piece comes from, we do not generally buy trade hand me downs, except of course for a few exceptional circumstances where we will state this in the “Provenance” section on our website.
- Auctioneers act as agents for the vendor.
However, remember though apart from a few notable exceptions, most things that most dealers are selling today, have been through the trade a generation ago. Some things can be traced back, to over a hundred years ago, some things we know have been in their original home all their life, but most have been with one generation for 30 years or so.
So our provenance statements are for the stocks immediate past unless we know further history. One thing I must add is that auction houses and the like, are just agents acting on behalf of their client. When a dealer buys at auction, he is buying from the private individual using the auction house as the facilitator, likewise the vendor uses the auction house as a vehicle to sell his unwanted antiques, the main winner of course is the auction house, who takes a cut from both sides of the equation…. easy life isn’t it?
Tags: antique, antique dealer, auctions, bonhams, christies, furniture, painting, provenance, sothebys, source, sourcing
Posted by MarcusAdams on Feb 6, 2009 in
Antique Rants
The 2008 Antique Furniture Index
First compiled in 1968 by John Andrews (also a writer of price guide books for antique furniture) the Antique Furniture Index (AFI) is now in its 40th year. The index represents a blend of retail and auction prices for 1400 typical (rather than exceptional) pieces of furniture from the seven different periods pictured in Mr Andrews’ book, British Antique Furniture.
Standing at an initial value of 100 in 1968, the index peaked at 3492 in 2003, and today stands at 2942 a “dramatic” fall of 1% on 2007. Historically, the AFI has tended to track, and sometimes even better, the fortunes of the stock market or house prices in the South of England. But since 2002, when the AFI registered the first of four consecutive years of correction, it did not keep pace with house prices in the South East.
But now things are different, this year’s basically static index figure contrasts with a more dramatic dip in the housing index over the last year and a plummeting FT250 Share Index, which is I’m sure a good sign for collectors and enthusiasts alike. The top end of the furniture market in particular is even showing a modest rise in values. During the current recession it probably can be said that good quality Georgian furniture is one of the few stable homes for your money!
To help you invest for your hard earned cash during this down turn, Millington Adams have some fantastic pieces in stock and available shortly – click here to view our “Recent Acquisitions”.
Tags: 2008, AFI, antique, furniture, guide, index, john andrews, price