Part 17 (1/2)
Christie, June 2, 1904 105 0 0
Bookcase, 4 ft. 8 in., mahogany, Heppelwhite, inlaid tulip-wood with box and ebony lines, fitted shelves and drawers, enclosed by doors. Phillips, Son and Neale, November 17, 1903 44 0 0
Settee, Heppelwhite, square-shaped, 6 ft., and three elbow chairs. Gudgeon & Sons, Winchester, March 9, 1904 38 0 0
Console-table, Heppelwhite satinwood, the top shaped as a broken ellipse, and of hare-wood with inlays of husks and flowers round a fan-pattern centre with borderings in ebony and other woods on a filling of satinwood; the edge is bound with ormolu, reeded and cross banded, below is the frieze of satin-wood inlaid with honeysuckle, paterae, and other ornament in holly, &c., and supported on a pair of carved square tapered legs painted and gilt, and with pendants of husks and acanthus capitals, 4 ft. 3 in. wide. Flashman & Co., Dover, April 26, 1904 40 0 0
Suite of Heppelwhite mahogany furniture, with open s.h.i.+eld backs, with vase-shaped centres carved, the back, arms and legs widely fluted, consisting of a settee, 74 in.
wide, and ten armchairs. Christie, June 2, 1904 325 10 0
Knife-box, oblong, Sheraton mahogany, with revolving front, inlaid with Prince-of-Wales's feathers and borders in satinwood, 19-1/2 in. wide. Christie, November 21, 1902 7 17 6
Sideboard, Sheraton, mahogany, satinwood inlaid, fitted with bra.s.s rails. Dowell, Edinburgh, November 14, 1903 30 9 0
Wardrobe, Sheraton mahogany, banded with satinwood, with folding doors above and below, and five drawers in the centre, 7 ft. high, 8 ft. wide. Christie, January 22, 1904 60 18 0
Chairs, set of eighteen Sheraton, with oval backs with rail centres, fluted and slightly carved with foliage and beading, the seats covered with flowered crimson damask; and a pair of settees, _en suite_, 6 ft. wide. Christie, February 26, 1904 126 0 0
Armchairs, pair, Sheraton, with s.h.i.+eld-shaped backs, painted with Prince of Wales feathers, and pearl ornament on black ground. Christie, March 28, 1904 28 7 0
Cabinet, Sheraton satinwood, with glazed folding doors enclosing shelves, drawer in the centre forming secretary, and folding-doors below, painted with baskets of flowers, &c., 7 ft. 9 in. high, 41 in. wide.
Christie, March 28, 1904 189 0 0
Secretaire, Sheraton small satinwood, with revolving tambour front, drawer and folding doors below, inlaid with arabesque foliage, 23 in. wide. Christie, April 29, 1904 47 5 0
[1] By the kindness of the proprietors of the _Connoisseur_ these items are given from their useful monthly publication, _Auction Sale Prices_.
XII
HINTS TO COLLECTORS
[Ill.u.s.tration: DESIGN FOR SPURIOUS MARQUETRY WORK.]
XII
HINTS TO COLLECTORS
The demand for old furniture has become so great that there is an increasing difficulty in supplying it. In order to satisfy the collector many artifices have been practised which in varying degree are difficult to detect, according to the skill and ingenuity of the present-day manufacturer of ”antique” furniture.
Replicas of old pieces are frequently made, and the workmans.h.i.+p is so excellent, and the copy of the old craftsman's style so perfect, that it only requires a century or two of wear to give to the specimen the necessary tone which genuine old furniture has naturally acquired.
In particular, French ornate furniture from the days of Boule to the Empire period has received the flattering attention of the fabricator by being imitated in all its details. These high-cla.s.s French pieces are fine examples of cabinetmaking, and it is not easy for anybody who has not a special expert knowledge to p.r.o.nounce definitely upon their authenticity. Doubts have even been expressed regarding certain pieces in the great national collections; in fact the art of the forger in regard to old French furniture, of which specimens change hands at anything from 1,000 to 10,000, has reached a very high level of excellence, having almost been elevated to one of the fine arts. If a clever workman possessed of great artistic feeling turns his attention to forging works of art, it is obvious that his triumph is complete over amateurs possessed of less artistic taste and knowledge than himself.
Many secret processes are employed to impart an appearance of age to the wood and to the metal mountings. The cruder methods are to eat off the sharper edges of the metal mountings by means of acid, and to discolour the newer surfaces by the aid of tobacco juice, both of which are not difficult to detect. The steady manufacture of these finer pieces goes on in France, and it has been found that the foggy atmosphere of London is especially useful in producing the effect of age upon the finer work, consequently many forged pieces are s.h.i.+pped to London to be stored in order to ripen until considered fit for the American market, where so many forgeries have been planted. The reward is great, and even considering the amount of trouble bestowed upon such pieces and the excellence of the artistic work where the highest skilled labour is employed, the profit is enormous. The parvenu buys his Louis XIV. or Louis XV. suite, and pays an immense sum for pieces which are stated to have come from some French n.o.bleman's chateau, whose name must not be divulged, and so the interesting deal is brought to a successful termination.
[Ill.u.s.tration: ”MADE-UP” BUFFET.