FAMINE IN ANTIQUES

Greymouth Evening Star, 1 June 1928, Page 2

FAMINE IN ANTIQUES

HUNDREDFOLD RISE IN VALUES.

Never in the history of art collecting has there been such a dearth of antiques of the first quality as at present. Though the principal London dealers have many pictures and much fine turnittfre in stock, examples of first importance are conspicuous by then ciljscncc. This condition of affairs was not unexpected, for with the great Amencan collectors spending more than £2,000,000 a year in this country in addition to the large purchases made Ir' French, German, and Dutch collectors, the supply of really good pictures, furniture, and china was bound to decrease. There are many dealers who have orders running into thousands of pounds on their books which they aie unable to fill. Most of the pictures of the great masters in the possession of noble families likely to come into the market have been sold; most of the best remaining Chippendale, Adam and other furniture is in houses from which it is never likely to be removed, while certain titled owners have repeatedly rejected tempting offers for their unique pieces of English porcelain, and c'-e never likely to succumb, however, much thees offers may be increased. In fact, almost the only source to which the trade can now look is when some well-known collector dies, and his collection comes under the hammer. It is, of course, to this scarcity that the • present abnormal prices obtainable for objects of the finest quality is due. Never, for instance, have such sums been paid for old English and French furniture as during the past year or so; paintings by the first masters of the British, Italian, French, and Dutch schools are now only possible of acquisition by the millionaire, vvfiiile there are several varieties of English china which are now readily selling for over one hundred times what they could have been purchased for last century.

The same applies to books and engravings. The First Folio Shakespeare, for instance, which early in the present century seldom reached four figures has in the past year or two found ready purchasers at over £lO,OOO, while for a collection of etchings and lithographs by Whistler, which at one time were selling for trifling sums, not less than 65,000d01. was given at a public sale last year.