Furniture

Collectors who missed out on a rare late 19th century cabin trunk at auction last week have the chance to buy another in West Sussex this coming Friday.

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

One of the rarest pieces in Suffolk House Antiques’ Christmas selling exhibition is a Georgian candle stand in fruitwood and elm. The back would have protected the flame so that the person using it would have uninterrupted light even in a draughty house. Examples bearing the original backs do not always show up intact.

Furniture dealer Christopher Howe is hosting a Christmas shopping event at his new Battersea warehouse on December 6-7.

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

Even during his lifetime Edward William Godwin complained that ebonised tables to his textbook ‘Anglo-Japanese’ design c.1867-68 were being copied by a number of different manufacturers.

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

This small-scale wall mirror by Line Vautrin from c.1950 measures approximately 15in (38cm) in diameter.

Ceramics, furniture, glass and figure highlights from a range of sales under same banner.

Chinese barber’s bowl is a stand-out item at event now running in a revamped format.

The final instalment of the three annual Pavilions of Harrogate Decorative Antiques & Fine Art Fair includes this small naive hedge or country chair, c.1820, from Ireland’s County Antrim.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859- 1930), author of the Sherlock Holmes stories, was so keen to work during his extensive travels that in 1925 he commissioned a case-maker to create a trunk that transformed into a writing desk.

Last week’s on-the-premises sale at Athelhampton House in Dorset was a near sell-out with a hammer price of close to £1.2m.

Always popular items, a Georgian lead cistern offered at Summers Place Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) was also rare in being circular. Usually they are rectangular, having stood against a wall connected to downpipes.

Catalogued as ‘witch’ mirrors, this c.1970 pair certainly charmed bidders at Dorchester auction house Duke’s (25% buyer’s premium). The key was the signature Line Vautrin, ROI for the Parisienne designer and decorative artist Line Vautrin (1913-97).

Nottingham auction house Mellors & Kirk (20% buyer’s premium) added to the cautiously feel-good mood created by some highly successful autumn sales in the provinces when strong private buying brought impressive results across the board.

Made in Gujarat or Sindh in the 18th century, a sandalwood table cabinet profusely inlaid with ivory flowers and tendrils throughout was a fine example of Mughal craftsmanship and led the way at a recent sale at Chiswick Auctions (25% buyer’s premium).

Judy Berger of Judy’s Vintage Fairs runs three regular vintage furniture fleas held in Leeds and London.

Under the Discover Vintage banner, Keeley Rosendale’s vintage home shows in Manchester and the Midlands continue to demonstrate the popularity of well-priced Mid-century furniture.