A Word About Antiques

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 256, 25 July 1936, Page 20

A Word About Antiques

By

“PRUDENCE”

It is the ambition of many young couples setting up bouse in this year of grace to furnish .with antiques. There is a feeling of satisfaction in the possession of genuine old pieces. A lovely old oak dresser, displaying the collected treasures of pewter ami china ; table and chairs, that have proved their solid worth through many years: a comfortable wing-back chair or a stately four-poster—any or all of such have an appeal for those who appreciate the mellow loveliness and solidity of the best examples of the furniture maker’s art. It is beyond dispute that the manufacturers of furniture pieces in this machine age cannot hope to compare their wares with the best turned out by makers of earlier and less bustling ages.

The old has been tried; the ugly and cumbersome pieces of the Victorian and Edwardian eras are gradually disapI>earing, and there is preserved, for the especial delectation of those chosen few who can afford them, the gems culled from the 16 th. 17tb, ISth and early 19th centuries.

Modern manufacturers h a v e been tried, and, in too many cases, found wanting. Veneers — wafer thin—set on a foundation, the quality of which is not its best point, are cut and shaped into “suites” as fast as machinery and the hand of man can speed-.

It seems to matter little if quality and good workmanship are Sacrificed in the rush to get the goods on to the market. No wonder homemakers are anxious to furnish with old pieces. Genuine antiques, of course, are not plentiful. They are usually acquired only by dint of waiting, endless searching, and an unerring knowledge of “what’s what.” This last is a hurdle on which many hunters balk.

Happy Hunting Ground. England is still the happy hunting ground for collectors, but here in New Zealand there occur opportunities for buying quite good pieces.

Disposals! of collections, opportune “sales” and the second-hand shop will often yield treasures. Dealers are so avid at the mere mention of the likeli-

liood of securing a good piece that the amateur collector must be ever on the alert if lie or she holies to bring off a coup.

First and foremost, you should as near as possible decide what you want and try not to deviate from your purpose when in pursuit of the quarry. Indiscriminate •‘mixing” can be just as woeful with antiques as with modern streamlined steel furniture interspersed with solid old English oak.

Variety in Woods. English furniture—we will not touch upon the antiques of other countries here —is divided into the four eras of oak, walnut, mahogany and satinwood-

Elizabeth (she who set the fashion

in four-post bedsteads) liked lashings of ornamental carving on beds and tables, chairs and chests. Reaction set in when the Stuarts commenced refurnishing ; they veered a little towards softer seats and more luxurious hangings.

Chairs still had carved backs and seats, 'but these were inlet with panels of canework which were often covered with loose cushions of velvet. The pseudo-Jacobean suites so prolific a few years ago were a semblance of the original pieces.

When William of Orange came across from Holland to rule England oak got a definite setback- The typical old

English wood was replaced by walnut. Dutch furniture, too, saw the light of dav in nierrie England, and inlay of coloured woods got first place as a decorative medium.

A further innovation was the curved or cabriole leg. Walnut continued the vogue when Queen Anne ascended the throne, but the Georges plumped for mahogany. Satinwood came into use towards the end of the ISth century.

Greatly enhanced prices bold for the work of the famous makers of English furniture. Chippendale was most prominent as the maker of mahogany furniture. His work dates circa 1<54. Hepplewhite's designs came a little later in 1780, which was the identical time the Adam brothers concentrated on the more classical lines of design. The name of .Sheraton ever looms large in the history of furniture. His favourite medium was satinwood.

Genuine or Otherwise?

Detecting a genuine antique from a copy becomes a matter for the expert. Some pieces are modern reproductions and sold as such, but the unscrupulous may try to palm off a copy at the price, or near the price, of a genuine piece. The ready market for “antiques’’ was a temptation to turn out pseudoantique woodwork, and it was amazing to observe the “genuine’’ effects that were given to comparatively newlymanufactured furniture. Loads of these new antiques found their way to- out-of-the-way spots in England

awaiting the gullible traveller from America or the Antipodes. True, this method has now been so exploited that tourists are aware of the trickery, but that has not prevented a number of such pieces being shipped away as genuine pieces to become a pitfall for the unwary collector in the new land.

It is a wiste- plan if you have the real appreciation of old furniture and desire to acquire it at a price, to commission a dealer of repute to buy for you, As well as needing an expert eye to detect frauds, the old wood has a sad way of becoming riddled With furniture beetles and other pests. Even with such difficulties, the possession of good furnitlre is a reward for all the trouble that may be taken.