Brown Furniture Coming Back? – Slowly

The Antiques Trade Gazette has an interesting article on the antique furniture market.  The Antique Collectors’ Club (ACC) publishes an annual furniture index (AFI), which is based in the UK.  After big falls for the last two years, 2011 only fell 2%.

The Antique Trade Gazette reports:
Established in 1968, the AFI is based on a blend of retail and auction prices for 1400 typical (rather than exceptional) pieces of furniture from seven different periods or categories pictured in John Andrews’ book British Antique Furniture. It does not reflect the volume of items traded, nor does it include spectacular sales at the top end of the market where prices largely held up well.

The index stood at 100 when Mr. Andrews began the project and it reached an historic high of 3575 points in 2002. But the past decade has seen a steady decline, including record falls of seven per cent in 2009 and eight per cent in 2010. Last year, the index moved downwards again from 2505 to 2463. It was last at this level in 1995.

English furniture is apparently still way down, and so is Regency, Oak, and Country furniture.  Victorian pieces were the biggest loser at -11%.  Walnut and Early Mahogany furniture did show gains – but possibly attributed the gains to the limited supply of good quality pieces offered for sale.  It’s the recurrent theme lately that good quality items sell well – so auctions are being very, very choosy to offer only the items of good quality.  Yes, I do think that antique furniture is coming back or at the very least stabilizing, the modest fall over 2011 is definitely encouraging as compared to the last two years.  OR it could be that we’re just grasping to see any positives in the antique furniture market.

Poor Victorian furniture.  It’s old-fashioned and completely out-of-style.  Nothing to be done but wait and see.

Pictured above:
AN ITALIAN RENAISSANCE STYLE WALNUT SIDEBOARD
17th century in part
34 x 52-1/2 x 13-1/2 inches (86.4 x 133.4 x 34.3 cm)
Estimate: $2,000 – $3,000
Opening bid: $1,000 
To be sold in the Estate Auction, February 7.

UPDATE: Sold for $6,875!