By Vivienne Milburn FRICS Independent Antiques Auctioneer & Valuer
Recently I asked Google AI: “Currently, what’s the most collectable and high-demand items in antique auctions?”
The reply was more or less what I would have said: vintage luxury watches, mid-century modern and signed designer furniture, fine Asian ceramics, high-end fine art and rare pop-culture or retro toys. Traditional heavy “brown” antique furniture has softened in price, while specialised and authenticated luxury goods thrive.
One of the areas people are most likely to be dismissive of is mass produced mid-century furniture that can so easily slip through the net as with this composite garden furniture set which was about to be consigned to the skip.
But, having been rescued and also having the right contemporary design look, they made £250 when sold in a recent auction.
The table was made by Daneline, a Danish mid-century modern furniture producer that created iconic outdoor and leisure furniture during the 1960s. The company specialised in weather-resistant, functional garden suites combining slatted teak wood with tubular steel white powder coated frames.
The chairs are the famous corded “Spaghetti Chairs” with plastic-strut weaving rather than teak slats. This iconic design was created by Italian designer Giandomenico Belotti (1922-2004) and manufactured by Alias using a steel frame and PVC cords.
After graduating in architecture from Iuav University of Venice, he devoted his work to research, restoration, urban planning and industrial design. He has collaborated with Alias since 1979, designing Spaghetti, the chair that continues to be one of the most current expressions of modern design and is on display in the permanent collection at MoMA in New York and other museums.
From the same property was a set of three Scandinavian design lounge armchairs. Also easily overlooked and dismissed as ‘modern’, they made £500 in the recent auction. Made by Westnofa Vestlandske, Norway, and designed by Ingmar Relling, with bentwood frames and black leather upholstery they were worth preserving.
If you require a valuation on your antiques and collectables, it is worth getting the advice of an Independent Antiques Valuer to assess your works of art. For information, please contact Vivienne Milburn on Mobile 07870 238788 or 01629 640210. www.viviennemilburn.co.uk email – vivienne@viviennemilburn.co.uk