N.Z. work

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32349, 15 July 1970, Page 11

N.Z. work

Had any been done since the Thirties, either by Whites or by any other firm? Not as far as he knew, said Mr Sturrock. Could it be done now? Could A. J. Whites’ make furniture like the two pieces above?

Certainly, replied Mr Sturrock, and there seemed *to be a faint note of surprise in bis voice that we should have felt it necessary to ask. . Of course, it would be rather expensive, he said. Before a quote could be given it would be necessary to take patterns and spend some time on costing, but it was likely that a chair like the one above would cost $250 before the gilding, and more than $4OO when finished.

Even though they are themselves copies of an earlier period, this chair and settee are almost antiques in their own right, and they are worth considerably more than their replacement cost. The two-seater settee (shown receiving a finishing touch by Mrs G. Bradley) must be one of the most beautiful single pieces of furniture in New Zealand, and if it were ever to go on the market the price would be well into four figures. Seen beside the gilded reproductions of a golden era, the Sheraton copies at lower left seem almost plebian, but in their relatively austere way they are just as perfect. And the austerity is only relative: the back of the chair on the left, for example, is inlaid with a shell motif, and the seats are padded with the same horsehair and covered with the same brocade. These chairs also were made in England, but later than the other furniture—about 1907.