ANTIQUES

Evening Star, Issue 19772, 24 January 1928, Page 2

ANTIQUES

FASCINATION- OF AGE There is an innate love of the antique in most people of to-day. They appreciate the soft coloring mid mellowed tone that age alone ean give, they enjoy the intimacy of the past which old tuiniture brings to a room, and, above all, they love the possession of curiosities found in the unexpected paths of hie. When setting out on the quest of the antique it is wise to remember the background of one's homo and the surroundings wc have to oiler to newfound treasures. Very olteu the furniture ol houses includes modeln and antique pieces of several periods, but in making fresh purchases the architectural features of the whole should be studied. . Flat life minimises and simplifies many problems. One—by no means the least important—is, the question of furniture; but even there tho design of the windows and fireplaces must be considered if the full value ot iurnishing effects is to he obtained. An Elizabethan buffet, beautiful in itself, will give solidity and strength to any room, but if tho sun streaming in through leaded windows reveals it in a Tudor hall, we are at once transported to a mediaeval atmosphere. Home of the glories of the past may have gone, but this old veteran calls up lor us memories of a panelled room, tapestry hangings, and velvet coverings which, although now no more, seem to have loft their spirit with ns. Hall furniture requires great consideration. Its importance in the house is paramount. First impressions have a great influence on the memory. The hall in its furnishings should strive to convey a sense of greeting. In the country wide doors arc (lung open, and the hall assumes the proportions of a reception room—spacious tables, deep chairs to rest the traveller, and the welcoming crackle of kindling logs. Alas, in town a narrow passage is dignified by the name of “hall.” but simple aiid useful furniture well balanced in its arrangement, and walls artistically treated, give us the desire to enter. The hall with a single table gives a. spacious effect even to the narrowest corridor. In tin's connection it is wise to remember that the staircase as it sweeps upward is a thing of real beauty, and its rhythm should not he broken by crowding pictures on the walls.

Comfort and utility go hand in hand in the dining room. Gate-leg tables of every period, though charming in design, are by no means convenient with their several legs at unexpected corners. For that reason they arc losing favor as dining room furniture, and are being replaced by oak refectory boards and the eighteenth century mahogany pedestal table. Oak buffets, court cupboards, and dressers are valuable additions to every collection and command high prices. They can stand shoulder to shoulder with Italian and Spanish oak of interesting and decorative character, which hah the advantage of being more reasonable in. price.—Auckland ‘Sun.’