When you can see the style of an antique piece and then match or associate it with the actual antique marks that the maker used, you are adding a new dimension to the knowledge you need to acquire in order to know what antique collectables to buy or invest in.
Viewing the antique manufacturers markings as they are stamped, painted or impressed on an antique item can help you learn more about how the maker marked their pieces and where and what to look out for. The gallery is where you can view a range of antiques and collectables from our own antiques collection and if you are a Google Plus user you can add your own comments or ask questions about the items.
You can view the full Antique Collectables Gallery here or watch the slideshow, clicking on one of the images below will take you to more details for that specific item. The antique collection items featured here are just a small preview of the full antiques gallery.
A makers mark that will provide the collector with an indication of the maker, the decorator and the approximate date of manufacture. However the marks on antique collectables can and have been faked, so the collector must then rely on the quality of manufacture, the quality of design and the quality of decoration to confirm that what they have is genuine.
The antiques collector can only do this by making sure they are familiar with the quality and style of a particular maker and by understanding the various elements within a makers mark as well as how and when those elements were introduced and utilised.
Most antique collectors, particularly those that specialise in one maker or one type or style of antique will be able to tell instantly whether an item is genuine. Most will be able to spot an antique in their particular area of expertise from a distance.
They learn to do this by becoming familiar with items and makers they are interested in. By handling those items and scrutinising every little detail about them to learn makers and designers individual inconsistencies and idiosyncrasies
View the original article here
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Is Collecting Antiques Still A Good Investment?
For some antique collectors, the true value in an antique lies in its sentimental worth rather than in its ability to increase in monetary value over the years. Nonetheless, the question,'Is collecting antiques a good investment?' is worthy of a word or two, especially for those particlularly avid antique collectors who hope to make a living from it or create a retirement nest egg from their financial investment in antiques and collectibles.
Without those individuals who hold a great deal of sentimental value in the antiques that they collect or continue to hold onto, the monetary value of collecting antiques might, more often, falter greatly or diminish drastically.
After all, many antique collectors invest in their cherished antiques for their sentimental value as well as their inherent financial value. Wanting to purchase an antique simply because you desire to own it often creates a much stronger pull or attraction toward it than wanting to purchase that same antique simply because you believe it will increase in value greatly over the next ten years.
For many antique collectors, the reason behind the desire to purchase an item is often a blend of true appreciation for its appearance and history as well as its potential value. What's the point in collecting something that you don't appreciate aesthetically? Of course, there is always the monetary value of an item, and that should be worth something in and of itself. However, the true pleasure that an experienced collector enjoys is often intricately interwoven with an intrinsic appreciation of the specific collectible genre.
Collecting antiques provides their owners with countless moments of visual appreciation, a feat that the ownership of stocks and bonds cannot possibly provide. While no guarantees can be given as to the continued financial worth of a specific antique, as long as collectors exist (which is likely), antiques will continue to hold monetary value at some level.
For some antiques, the financial value of a specific piece may increase, while for other items, the monetary value may decrease. There are no hard rules that a collector can use to accurately predict whether a specific antique will go up in value or not. When an individual collector is interested in a specific antique, the item may appear to be more valuable to him.
Nonetheless, people like to collect things, especially antiques. It's nice to own a piece of history that you can sit on, serve dinner on, store items inside of, or look at in appreciation. The value of an antique is realised by the collector who owns it as well as the collector who wishes to own it.
If you don't understand the heading for this section, "Today's Cup of Tea Is Served in a Different Antique Teapot," then you might have difficulty understanding the concept that it posits. As each new generation comes into existence, the popularity of some antiques will rise as the attraction of other antiques will decrease. Why is this?
Well, for some collectors, the desirability of certain antiques is intrinsically linked to the furniture, jewellery, paintings, or other paraphinalia that they grew up with as a child. Fond memories lead to the desire to own familiar pieces of the past and to place them within the antique collectors apartment, home, or office.
At one time, hot tea was served in sterling silver teapots. Eventually, porcelain and ceramic teapots became more popular and more affordable. Today, many individuals have never even seen a real teapot, let alone had a cup of hot tea from one. The saying, "It may not be your cup of tea," suggests that not all antique collectors are looking for the same type of collectible, a fact that directly influences the value of any piece of antique furntiure, ceramic or other artifact.
And, with each new generation collecting antiques, the search is on for some new variety of antiques. As modern themes emerge in home decor, many previously popular antiques will not fit with these new decorative themes, and this leads to the selection of a different type, style or period of collectibles. Hence, the monetary value of one style of antique may increase while another will remain stagnant or even decrease slightly.
The value of antiques is also influenced by the number of collectors actively searching for specific antiques along with the available supply of the items. As collectors age and begin to sell off their cherished collections of antiques, the market becomes flooded. As the law of supply and demand dictates, the value of the items may decrease in direct relation to the number of collectors searching for specific antiques.
Does this scenario mean that collecting antiques is not a good investment? No, in actuality, this type of situation simply suggests that the antiques market experiences ups and downs, in a similar way to other markets. However, as long as antique collectors are avidly searching for their favorite style of furniture, paintings by their favorite artists, or specific trinkets from a particular period, antiques will continue to hold their value and remain worthwhile investments.
The collector searches for the perfect find, hoping earnestly to purchase it at a reasonable price; and all the while hoping that his antique treasure will increase in value over the years to come. But sometimes, it is the other cup of tea that brings about the largest increase in value of an antique collectable twenty or thirty years down the line. Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but the value of an antique is in the heart of the antiques collector.
View the original article here
Without those individuals who hold a great deal of sentimental value in the antiques that they collect or continue to hold onto, the monetary value of collecting antiques might, more often, falter greatly or diminish drastically.
After all, many antique collectors invest in their cherished antiques for their sentimental value as well as their inherent financial value. Wanting to purchase an antique simply because you desire to own it often creates a much stronger pull or attraction toward it than wanting to purchase that same antique simply because you believe it will increase in value greatly over the next ten years.
For many antique collectors, the reason behind the desire to purchase an item is often a blend of true appreciation for its appearance and history as well as its potential value. What's the point in collecting something that you don't appreciate aesthetically? Of course, there is always the monetary value of an item, and that should be worth something in and of itself. However, the true pleasure that an experienced collector enjoys is often intricately interwoven with an intrinsic appreciation of the specific collectible genre.
Collecting antiques provides their owners with countless moments of visual appreciation, a feat that the ownership of stocks and bonds cannot possibly provide. While no guarantees can be given as to the continued financial worth of a specific antique, as long as collectors exist (which is likely), antiques will continue to hold monetary value at some level.
For some antiques, the financial value of a specific piece may increase, while for other items, the monetary value may decrease. There are no hard rules that a collector can use to accurately predict whether a specific antique will go up in value or not. When an individual collector is interested in a specific antique, the item may appear to be more valuable to him.
Nonetheless, people like to collect things, especially antiques. It's nice to own a piece of history that you can sit on, serve dinner on, store items inside of, or look at in appreciation. The value of an antique is realised by the collector who owns it as well as the collector who wishes to own it.
If you don't understand the heading for this section, "Today's Cup of Tea Is Served in a Different Antique Teapot," then you might have difficulty understanding the concept that it posits. As each new generation comes into existence, the popularity of some antiques will rise as the attraction of other antiques will decrease. Why is this?
Well, for some collectors, the desirability of certain antiques is intrinsically linked to the furniture, jewellery, paintings, or other paraphinalia that they grew up with as a child. Fond memories lead to the desire to own familiar pieces of the past and to place them within the antique collectors apartment, home, or office.
At one time, hot tea was served in sterling silver teapots. Eventually, porcelain and ceramic teapots became more popular and more affordable. Today, many individuals have never even seen a real teapot, let alone had a cup of hot tea from one. The saying, "It may not be your cup of tea," suggests that not all antique collectors are looking for the same type of collectible, a fact that directly influences the value of any piece of antique furntiure, ceramic or other artifact.
And, with each new generation collecting antiques, the search is on for some new variety of antiques. As modern themes emerge in home decor, many previously popular antiques will not fit with these new decorative themes, and this leads to the selection of a different type, style or period of collectibles. Hence, the monetary value of one style of antique may increase while another will remain stagnant or even decrease slightly.
The value of antiques is also influenced by the number of collectors actively searching for specific antiques along with the available supply of the items. As collectors age and begin to sell off their cherished collections of antiques, the market becomes flooded. As the law of supply and demand dictates, the value of the items may decrease in direct relation to the number of collectors searching for specific antiques.
Does this scenario mean that collecting antiques is not a good investment? No, in actuality, this type of situation simply suggests that the antiques market experiences ups and downs, in a similar way to other markets. However, as long as antique collectors are avidly searching for their favorite style of furniture, paintings by their favorite artists, or specific trinkets from a particular period, antiques will continue to hold their value and remain worthwhile investments.
The collector searches for the perfect find, hoping earnestly to purchase it at a reasonable price; and all the while hoping that his antique treasure will increase in value over the years to come. But sometimes, it is the other cup of tea that brings about the largest increase in value of an antique collectable twenty or thirty years down the line. Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but the value of an antique is in the heart of the antiques collector.
View the original article here
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Antique Rattan Furniture Collectors - 1870s to 1930s
Antique Rattan furniture evokes contradictory impressions: Casual, but Victorian-formal; Classic, but linked to the 19th century; Ephemeral, but timeless. Today, reactions to rattan furniture range from those owners who can’t wait to get rid of “that old stuff” to furniture collectors who cheerfully troop through endless yard sales to find treasured pieces.
Rattan furniture itself can range from battered, half-broken painted thrift store junk to pristine museum-grade furniture displayed in a place of honor. What makes collecting and owning antique and vintage rattan furniture so interesting, and occasionally frustrating, is the vague history of this class of collectibles. Almost every attempt at defining this class of furniture, first gives a quick bow to ancient Egypt (tomb pieces dating to 3,000 BC), before launching into 1930's Art Deco styles.
There’s a lot of vintage & antique rattan furniture that was produced between those dates, and much of it is still there, ready to be discovered. Indonesia (particularly Borneo), the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh account for the bulk of the world’s production. The wood is solid, unlike bamboo, which is hollow, but it does have section joints.
Larger pieces have been used for Malacca canes, beloved of London gentlemen, for centuries. It is the bark stripped from the canes, however, which was soaked and woven into wicker pieces. This bark was also used to wrap around wood (often the stripped core of the original rattan) to make frames, legs and backs.
Because rattan is so flexible, it can be bent and shaped into ornate designs, which fitted the Victorian sensibilities exactly.
A quick break in the story, here, to talk about wicker. The term “wicker” just describes any woven furniture, usually made from plant materials. A wicker piece can be made from bamboo, rush or even straw. So, rattan furniture is a type of wicker, but not all wicker is rattan.
Although it was used to make furniture in India and China, it was the building of the British Empire in India and Malaya during the early 19th century which really brought rattan furniture to the notice of the British, and later the Americans, who lived and traded in Asia.
They came to love it. And why not? It could easily be woven into almost any style, it was light and cool – perfect for the tropics – and it was cheap. Very, very cheap.
The Wakefield Rattan Company began to produce rattan furniture and sell it all over the United States, where it was soon finding its way to the conservatories, porches and summer parlors of the rich and the well to do.
In the 1830's it was a fad; by the 1850's it was a boom; by 1900, it was as common to find rattan furniture in a home as it was to see a cast iron kitchen stove there. Although there were other manufacturers, Wakefield was the largest. In fact, it absorbed its largest competitor, the Heywood Company, in 1897.
The manufactured range of wicker furniture (most of it still rattan) was tremendous, and included chairs, tables, love seats, beds and even wheeled chairs used on the boardwalks of popular resort towns such as Atlantic City.
By the beginning of the 20th century, however, tastes began to change and Victorian styles went out of fashion. The Heywood-Wakefield Company, as it was now named, then began to produce wicker furniture in what was called the “Mission style,” but the classic age of rattan ended during the Great Depression.
And another blip in the record during the 1970s when a style sometimes referred to as “Tiki Bar” was made.
Aside from those, post 1930s rattan furniture has primarily relied on reproducing pieces from the 19th century, much of it using synthetic reeds. Almost all of the modern pieces made from genuine rattan have been made in Asia, often the Philippines.
Today's antique furniture collectors now concentrate on rattan pieces made during the period 1870-1930. They face the usual challenges of all antique collectors, no matter what is being discussed: repairs, restorations, reproductions and fakes. For rattan furniture collectors, add to that the problem of the material itself.
Is it really rattan? Are other materials mixed in, either during production or afterwards. When was a repair made? It takes experience and careful examination to tell, sometimes. Some collectors are willing to buy pieces which have been carefully repaired, but eschew extensive restorations. Others firmly draw the line at painted pieces, but who can tell when it was painted? Is a rattan chair painted in 1880 less antique?
Other collectors depend on contemporary advertisements or catalogues for identification of genuine pieces, but that might leave out a short-run production or even a custom-made piece. The latter, while harder to identify and authenticate, could be quite valuable.
As you would expect, however, their prices are set at a premium. There are still undiscovered antique rattan furniture pieces out there, but they are becoming more and more difficult to find. What pieces are found in the yard sale jungle have to be considered with a jaundiced eye; they might be genuine, or they might be a reproduction.
Even if the style matches a catalogue from the 1890s, for example, it might be a recently-imported piece from Asia. Without a sure way to judge the age or an article of provenance, it’s often difficult to tell.
You see the problem, of course. But, many would say that this is part of the challenge, even the joy, of collecting antique rattan furniture.
Using a discerning eye, some common sense, a few good reference books and sometimes, just taking a leap of faith is all part of the great collecting game.
View the original article here
Rattan furniture itself can range from battered, half-broken painted thrift store junk to pristine museum-grade furniture displayed in a place of honor. What makes collecting and owning antique and vintage rattan furniture so interesting, and occasionally frustrating, is the vague history of this class of collectibles. Almost every attempt at defining this class of furniture, first gives a quick bow to ancient Egypt (tomb pieces dating to 3,000 BC), before launching into 1930's Art Deco styles.
There’s a lot of vintage & antique rattan furniture that was produced between those dates, and much of it is still there, ready to be discovered. Indonesia (particularly Borneo), the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh account for the bulk of the world’s production. The wood is solid, unlike bamboo, which is hollow, but it does have section joints.
Larger pieces have been used for Malacca canes, beloved of London gentlemen, for centuries. It is the bark stripped from the canes, however, which was soaked and woven into wicker pieces. This bark was also used to wrap around wood (often the stripped core of the original rattan) to make frames, legs and backs.
Because rattan is so flexible, it can be bent and shaped into ornate designs, which fitted the Victorian sensibilities exactly.
A quick break in the story, here, to talk about wicker. The term “wicker” just describes any woven furniture, usually made from plant materials. A wicker piece can be made from bamboo, rush or even straw. So, rattan furniture is a type of wicker, but not all wicker is rattan.
Although it was used to make furniture in India and China, it was the building of the British Empire in India and Malaya during the early 19th century which really brought rattan furniture to the notice of the British, and later the Americans, who lived and traded in Asia.
They came to love it. And why not? It could easily be woven into almost any style, it was light and cool – perfect for the tropics – and it was cheap. Very, very cheap.
The Wakefield Rattan Company began to produce rattan furniture and sell it all over the United States, where it was soon finding its way to the conservatories, porches and summer parlors of the rich and the well to do.
In the 1830's it was a fad; by the 1850's it was a boom; by 1900, it was as common to find rattan furniture in a home as it was to see a cast iron kitchen stove there. Although there were other manufacturers, Wakefield was the largest. In fact, it absorbed its largest competitor, the Heywood Company, in 1897.
The manufactured range of wicker furniture (most of it still rattan) was tremendous, and included chairs, tables, love seats, beds and even wheeled chairs used on the boardwalks of popular resort towns such as Atlantic City.
By the beginning of the 20th century, however, tastes began to change and Victorian styles went out of fashion. The Heywood-Wakefield Company, as it was now named, then began to produce wicker furniture in what was called the “Mission style,” but the classic age of rattan ended during the Great Depression.
And another blip in the record during the 1970s when a style sometimes referred to as “Tiki Bar” was made.
Aside from those, post 1930s rattan furniture has primarily relied on reproducing pieces from the 19th century, much of it using synthetic reeds. Almost all of the modern pieces made from genuine rattan have been made in Asia, often the Philippines.
Today's antique furniture collectors now concentrate on rattan pieces made during the period 1870-1930. They face the usual challenges of all antique collectors, no matter what is being discussed: repairs, restorations, reproductions and fakes. For rattan furniture collectors, add to that the problem of the material itself.
Is it really rattan? Are other materials mixed in, either during production or afterwards. When was a repair made? It takes experience and careful examination to tell, sometimes. Some collectors are willing to buy pieces which have been carefully repaired, but eschew extensive restorations. Others firmly draw the line at painted pieces, but who can tell when it was painted? Is a rattan chair painted in 1880 less antique?
Other collectors depend on contemporary advertisements or catalogues for identification of genuine pieces, but that might leave out a short-run production or even a custom-made piece. The latter, while harder to identify and authenticate, could be quite valuable.
As you would expect, however, their prices are set at a premium. There are still undiscovered antique rattan furniture pieces out there, but they are becoming more and more difficult to find. What pieces are found in the yard sale jungle have to be considered with a jaundiced eye; they might be genuine, or they might be a reproduction.
Even if the style matches a catalogue from the 1890s, for example, it might be a recently-imported piece from Asia. Without a sure way to judge the age or an article of provenance, it’s often difficult to tell.
You see the problem, of course. But, many would say that this is part of the challenge, even the joy, of collecting antique rattan furniture.
Using a discerning eye, some common sense, a few good reference books and sometimes, just taking a leap of faith is all part of the great collecting game.
View the original article here
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Antique Minton China Porcelain and Thomas Minton
The Minton china factory production consisted of practical and unpretentious tablewares in painted or printed earthenware or bone china that followed the typical shapes and decorative patterns of the period.
The firm gained it superb reputation when Herbert Minton succeeded his father as head of the firm. Under his management, he enlisted the services of many skilled artists. He introduced new techniques and methods of production. For these reasons, the Mintons was recognized for both industrial enterprise as well as its artistic excellence.
AWN Pugin, Sir Henry Cole, and Prince Albert were close associates whose designs were used by Minton. The painter and sculptor Alfred Stevens, the French sculptors Hugues Protat and Emile Jeannest, and the painter John Simpson were also employed there.
In 1845, Herbert Minton and Michael Daintry Hollins entered into partnership and the tile-making side of the business became known as Minton Hollins & Co. Herbert Minton's successful experiments in making encaustic tiles during the 1840s put him at the forefront of a huge industry supplying the requirments of institutions, churches, and domestic interiors all over the world.
Encaustic tiles are ceramic tiles with a decoration made of different colours of clay inlaid into the surface, a method originally produced in the middle ages. Later, Herbert lead the way in exploiting industrial techniques for producing printed and painted tiles, and for the rest of the century the firm produced tiles in a vast array of styles, many of them designed by leading artists such as Christopher Dresser, Walter Crane, John Moyr Smith, and William Wise. Relief-moulded tiles were introduced to the Minton range from the 1860s.
Parian Ware is a marble-like unglazed porcelain body developed during the 1840s and used most successfully for sculptural pieces.
John Bell, the American Hiram Powers, and Albert Carrier de Belleuse were among the sculptors who produced statuary for Minton.
Popular scaled-down models of larger pieces by contemporary and past sculptors were produced in Parian ware and the material was often used in combination with glazed and painted bone china for display pieces.
Leon remained there until 1892 and among his achievements were the development of Renaissance inspired ceramics such as inlaid earthenwares, pieces painted in the style of Limoges porcelain and in 1850 Minton China introduced the richly coloured and heavily glazed majolica.
Majolica was first shown at the Great Exhibition of 1851 and used for all kinds of objects from large garden ornaments and elaborate display pieces to dishes and jugs for the table. Arnoux attracted other French artists to Minton, notably the sculptor Carrier de Belleuse, the modeller and decorator Marc-Louis Solon and the painter Antoine Boullemier.
This beautiful but labourious process involves building up a design in relief with layers of liquid slip, each one having to dry before the next is applied. Using this technique, Solon and his apprentices modelled diaphanously clad maidens and tumbling cherubs on vases and plaques with a skill that was unmatched by any other factory.
After Herberts death the firm was run by his nephew Colin Minton Campbell and Colin was a visionary like his uncle. From the 1860's Oriental decoration pre-occupied Minton. Highly original pieces, both in earthenware and bone china, evoked Chinese cloisonne enamels, Japanese lacquer ware and ivories, Islamic metalwork and Turkish pottery.
The art studio was set up under the direction of the painter WS Coleman, in order to encourage both amateur and professional artists to decorate china and tiles for Minton. Although popular and influential, unfortunately the studio was burnt down in 1875 and was never rebuilt.
Even though excellent work continued to flow out of the factory, management languished among disinterested Minton family members and the company narrowly escaped bankruptcy.
View the original article here
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