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.

Ossowski 83 Pimlico Road

Pimlico Road dealer Ossowski closes with on-the-premises insolvency auction

18 March 2026

Longstanding Pimlico Road dealer Ossowski is thought to have closed with a liquidation auction held on the premises.

Ardbraccan House

Former Christie’s specialist-turned antiques dealer sells Irish country house contents at auction

17 March 2026

Serena Williams-Ellis, a former Christie’s specialist who became an antiques dealer then interior designer, owned and decorated Ardbraccan House in County Meath, Ireland for the past decade.

Jade Jagger

Designer and former model Jade Jagger auctions items from her Georgian home in Gloucestershire

16 March 2026

British jewellery and interior designer Jade Jagger, the daughter of Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger and his former wife Bianca, is selling works from her collection at Sworders.

img_1-1.jpg

Elizabethan Golden Age table shines at auction

13 March 2026

This “incredibly rare elaborate, fantastical and exquisitely carved” oak draw-leaf table, dating from the Golden Age of the English Renaissance, stood out at the Paul Fitzsimmons – A Life in Oak sale.

Christie's CEO Bonnie Brennan

Chippendale out, Ive in – Christie’s unveils new rostrum design

10 March 2026

Christie’s has replaced its traditional Chippendale-style rostrums with a new version designed by Sir Jony Ive and made by furniture maker Benchmark.

The Chinese Chippendale Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace

Haughton annual art history seminar returns to London this summer

06 March 2026

The annual two-day Haughton International seminar returns this summer with a theme on Courtly Magnificence - Gender, Dynasty & Politics.

img_13-2.jpg

Mouseman furniture finds fans in two auctions

06 March 2026

A Mouseman single wardrobe with panelled adzed decoration sold for £7400 against a guide of £4000-6000 at Summersgills (18% buyer’s premium) in Easingwold, North Yorkshire.

img_29-2.jpg

A rare Vizagapatam visitor stars in German auction

06 March 2026

It has been some years since a good piece of Vizagapatam furniture turned up at a German auction, so it was quite an event when Bieberle (21.42% buyer’s premium) in Magdeburg offered a writing cabinet.

Arts and Crafts chest of drawers

Stanley Webb Davies furniture taken to new price territory in North Yorkshire

04 March 2026

A chestnut bedroom suite by renowned Lake District furniture maker Stanley Webb Davies has sold for a total hammer price of £26,100 at Tennants in Leyburn.

The team from Wilson's Yard

Architectural salvage dealer plans retirement auction

03 March 2026

Salvage dealer Wilson’s Yard in Dromore, County Down is closing and selling its remaining stock with Cavan auction house Victor Mee Auctions.

oak coffer

Dealer Paul Fitzsimmons' 'Life in Oak' told through 700 lots at Woolley & Wallis

27 February 2026

Woolley & Wallis is conducting a single-owner sale of early furniture and sculpture over two days on March 10-11. The auction, titled Paul Fitzsimmons – A Life in Oak, offers 708 lots from the proprietor of specialist oak dealership Marhamchurch Antiques that opened in Devon in 1991.

img_24-2.jpg

Dealers and interior designers collaborating as a ‘single marketplace’ will make debut at Bath fair

27 February 2026

A new design and antiques venture will debut at the Bath Decorative Antiques Fair with a Grand Tour– inspired selection that includes a pair of hand-carved marble obelisks with striking malachite detailing.

img_27-1.jpg

French 18th century female painter snapped up by Versailles ahead of auction

27 February 2026

One of the highlights of a sale of Old Master works held by Tajan (26/21/14% buyer’s premium) was a pastel self-portrait by the 18th century French portrait painter Adélaïde Labille-Guiard (1749-1803).

img_8-2.jpg

Furnished in the grand manner: Corby Castle brought grandeur to Cumbria

27 February 2026

Extensive contents of Cumbrian castle take three days to sell in North Yorkshire auction

img_18-1.jpg

Stanley Webb Davies dressing table is among five lots to watch

23 February 2026

With estimates from £300, here are five previews of items coming up at auction this week

img_1-1.jpg

Dresser to impress: chairs take £56,000

20 February 2026

This pair of Aesthetic Movement ebonised and gilt salon chairs designed by Christopher Dresser (1834-1904) sold for £56,000 at Gildings in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, on February 17.

Elizabethan Lambert table

Elizabethan table stands out in Fitzsimmons sale

13 February 2026

Paul Fitzsimmons of Marhamchurch Antiques in Bovey Tracey, Devon, is one of the foremost early English oak specialists in the UK, with over 30 years of experience in the trade.

Bonheur-du-jour

Kansas museum buys rare 18th century writing desk by Parisian cabinetmaker

13 February 2026

A bonheur-du-jour secrétaire by celebrated cabinetmaker Roger Vandercruse Lacroix (1728-99) has been purchased by a museum in Kansas from French dealer Galerie Léage for a six-figure sum.

img_18-5.jpg

Antique props once seen on screen, now starring in the saleroom

13 February 2026

Latest sale of props from renowned company features several surprises such as Spanish revivalist chairs

img_29-7.jpg

Customer leaves it to last minute for rug purchase as LARTA celebrates a strong event

13 February 2026

Sales at this year’s edition of The London Antique Rug and Textile Art Fair (LARTA) continued, literally, until the doors were shutting on the final day.

Categories

News