Furniture

Every piece of furniture has a practical purpose regardless of how simple or grand it is, even if some pieces were built more for display than function. Today, furniture remains one of the largest areas of the antiques market and items are categorised by type and period.

The term brown furniture refers to traditional pieces made from dark woods such as mahogany, while pieces made from native woods like oak and walnut are sometimes referred to as vernacular furniture.

Famous historical makers include Chippendale, Gillows, William Vile and John Cobb. More recent market trends have seen modern vintage pieces appearing in specialist design and ‘Interior’ auctions.


img_5-1.jpg

William Wordsworth's oak table is among five lots to watch

08 June 2026

With estimates from £100, here are five previews of items coming up at auction this week

img_8-1.jpg

Furniture made by Barnsley ‘for Cholmeley’

05 June 2026

The two opening lots of Chorley’s Modern Art & Design sale on June 2 were a walnut and ebony secretaire cabinet and a dresser designed and made by Arts & Crafts titan Sidney Barnsley (1865-1926).

img_20-1.jpg

Bidders show their zest for zinc Louis Vuitton trunks

05 June 2026

West Sussex firm has made the trunks something of a speciality after four five-figure sales in a decade

img_36-1.jpg

Intended for a queen but given to a king

29 May 2026

A silver and horn casket made for Queen Victoria but given to King Edward VII is offered by Mark Goodger Antiques at the Pavilions of Harrogate Decorative, Antiques & Art Fair from June 12-14.

Side table

Side table takes centre stage with a £26,000 bid

22 May 2026

This Indo-Portuguese ivory inlaid rosewood side table had last been sold in 1950 when it was bought by the ceramicist Eric James Mellon (1925-2014) while an art student in London.

Louis Vuitton Explorer trunk

Louis Vuitton Explorer trunk sells to US buyer at West Sussex auction

19 May 2026

Toovey’s of West Sussex sold another zinc covered Louis Vuitton Explorer trunk on May 14 – the fourth the firm has handled in recent years.

img_21-1.jpg

Pink topaz and diamond brooch sets house record at Perthshire auction

15 May 2026

Perth saleroom Lindsay Burns (22% buyer’s premium) posted a new house record with an exceptional piece of period jewellery at its latest three-day sale.

Stair Cabinet 2742IE

‘Try to find another one that’s not in a museum’

01 May 2026

This Flemish Baroque carved ebony table cabinet shown below opens to reveal intricate silk needlework images of flowers to the inside of its three doors.

Andrew Jones 01 2742IE

Dublin-made Egyptian revival mirror brings competition between 16 bidders

01 May 2026

An Irish Regency overmantel mirror in Egyptian Revival style by the Dublin artisan Joshua Kearney (1797-1849) hammered for $22,000 (£16,400) against a $6000-8000 guide at Andrew Jones Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) in Los Angeles.

Showplace 2742IE

Bidders will be the judge

01 May 2026

In 1950, the Swiss artist, architect and designer Pierre Jeanneret (1896-1967) joined his cousin Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (who had assumed the pseudonym Le Corbusier) to create a new capital of Punjab.

Fontaine's 01A Galle 1 2742IE

Gallé sideboard ripe for a new owner

01 May 2026

According to the lot notes, 11 wood veneers from Macassar ebony to burr maple were used in making the c.1903 Émile Gallé Épis de Blé sideboard.

Morris & Co tile panels

Morris & Co Labours of the Month tiles work wonders in Edinburgh to reap a £75,000 auction reward

24 April 2026

The latest Design Since 1860 sale at Lyon & Turnbull in Edinburgh was topped by four Morris & Co tile panels depicting the Labours of the Months dated to c.1865.

img_25-5.jpg

Ann Lee Warner made an impact with a stellar chinoiserie cabinet

24 April 2026

Female artists and makers are well represented at this year’s Petworth Park Antiques & Fine Art Fair. Of particular note is Ann Lee Warner, about whom little is known, but whose name appears on a lacquer cabinet offered by Reindeer Antiques.

img_13-9.jpg

Anglo-Indian furniture in a good market place

24 April 2026

Though sourced separately, the two best-selling furniture lots at Gorringe’s (25% buyer’s premium) latest Fine Art & Interiors sale in Lewes were both products of colonial India.

Victorian rosewood marquetry centre table
img_9-2.jpg

Furniture and snuffbox benefit from a bit of regal assistance

17 April 2026

A Queen Anne olivewood oyster, holly and walnut cabinet on stand offered by Dreweatts (27/26% buyer’s premium) in Newbury was among a number of lots sold recently showing the commercial boost that royal provenance can provide.

Alice Liddell's bed

Alice in slumberland: bed once belonging to Alice Liddell comes to auction

10 April 2026

Alice Liddell was just a 10-year-old living in Oxford in the 1860s when Charles Dodgson – better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll – spun a fantastical tale to her and her two sisters Edith and Lorina on a summer afternoon by the Thames.

img_8-6.jpg

Arts & Crafts northern exposure: woodwork made in Cumbria and Yorkshire – auctioned in Cumbria and Yorkshire

10 April 2026

Lake District cabinetmaker and woodcarver Ernest John Oldcorn trained at Gillows of Lancaster but he found his niche after joining the Arthur W Simpson workshop.

img_21-2.jpg

Cape Town connects the world

10 April 2026

Single-owner collection reflects both the port’s position linking trade routes and the artisans it attracted

img_11-1.jpg

The collection of dealer Paul Fitzsimmons: a life in oak told across 700 lots in a Salisbury saleroom

27 March 2026

Specialist dealer sells items from his collection in two-day auction as he heads towards semi-retirement

Categories

News