News Articles Library Event Photos Contact Search


Wednesday, 27 April 2011 02:48

Really Fine Prices for Fine Antiques

FOGEY FURNITURE | Unlike maxed-out midcentury modern, serious pieces like this Regency desk in architect Gil Schafer's apartment can be had for a song. FOGEY FURNITURE | Unlike maxed-out midcentury modern, serious pieces like this Regency desk in architect Gil Schafer's apartment can be had for a song. Paul Costello

While sexy modern designs, like midcentury Karl Springer coffee tables and John Vesey steel chairs, are going for fat sums, prices for period pieces are down from their '80s peak. "Now is the time to buy good antiques," insisted Guy Regal, the Manhattan antiques dealer, over lunch a few weeks ago.

According to Mr. Regal, the market for period pieces, including 18th-century Louis, authentic English Regency and Irish Chippendale, is ripe for the picking. "There's a glut of important, dowager furniture out there and not a lot of demand, thus, a pricing free fall," he said. Consider this: A pair of Louis XVI fauteuils that were $35,000 15 years ago just went for $10,000 at auction.

It's all great news for those with spare cash and an expert's knowledge of what to look for. I, on the other hand, am a touch short on both. But I am curious, and I do love a deal.

One trip to Mr. Regal's space at the chicly renovated Newel showroom on 53rd Street and I was ready to (pretend to) invest in Old World. His inventory is refined glitz—like if Jackie O were a table. Walking through the aisles, all that buffed mahogany reminded me of Cold War-era Sunny von Bulow décor, in a good way.

The scale and seriousness of the furniture was inspiring and would offer a nuanced jolt to any room short on history. For those of us who obsess about living rooms, it's exciting to bring home a glossy, gilded antique, like an Italian secretary desk, and redefine it for the 2010s against a more subdued backdrop. Plus, this subgenre is not as gray granny as you might think—like it or not, '80s vapor is thick right now.

Trend followers have been blogging about old master fluffers like Mark Hampton and Mario Buatta with nostalgic longing, hoping for a neo-"Dynasty" revival. Style setters like Carolina Herrera Jr. have been layering in the old lady pieces for years—her laid-back house in Spain is a triumph of festive fabrics, modern upholstery and old-guard furniture.

Additional Info

Events