This old thing?

This weekend the RDS is crawling with people like me – people who believe that furniture with a history is far more interesting than the kind that comes in a box fresh or needs to be assembled with an Allen key.

In the same way that character, charm and the odd quirk are qualities we cherish in people, we antiques hunters appreciate these qualities in furniture too, and there are plenty of us about. The people who will pass through this weekend’s Irish Antique Dealers Association fair don’t need convincing that a functional or beautiful piece with a previous life and a story to tell is far more appealing than a brand new item with no history to speak of.

I first developed an appreciation for all things second hand growing up in a family of five in Limerick. I didn’t get my first new coat until the Pope came. When a brand new coat is a very big deal you have a keen appreciation of the value of things, and that’s why I’ve been a regular at auction houses and charity shops all my life.

The two passions of my life are politics and antiques. Having studied history of art and French at college the plan was to work in Sotheby’s in London. Politics intervened and took me off on a very different direction.

I kept up my interest in antiques though, and have collected all kinds of things, from the massive bible on my sittingroom table to various old kitchen bits. When my politics stopped I went back to it again and now I work part-time in Niall Mullen’s shop in Francis Street. Starting there was research really as I was thinking of opening up a shop myself. I’m not sure whether that is still going to happen, but it’s wonderful being surrounded by such beautiful items and helping people make choices about what will look best in their home.

One of my favourite pieces is my Grand Uncle’s Victorian desk chair which I salvaged from my great grandfather’s office at 10 Glentworth Street, Limerick. He had been an engineer and later my grand uncle was a solicitor in the same office. It’s a beautiful piece and just wonderfully comfortable. I love the fact that it has been in use for so long and by my relations.

Having a piece of furniture that tells a story is a big part of the attraction of antiques.

Imagine the countless people who were reflected in that mottled mirror or the documents and papers that were signed at that desk. Think of the gossip exchanged over tea in that old china and the dramas that may have unfolded over that dining table.

Old pieces have witnessed history and survived and that makes them far more interesting. Especially now as we commemorate the beginning of the first World War and approach the centenary of the Easter Rising, everyday objects from that era have become more poignant.

During Antiques Week earlier this year, I attended a lecture on furniture restoration. The restorer told us his aunt used to say that “God has decreed that everything on this earth created by man is doomed to decay except for good wine and good furniture, which if treated correctly, will improve with age.”

That phrase “if treated correctly” is important. In the past, time was that secret ingredient that enhanced a piece of furniture. The time that passed from the felling of timbers until they were crafted into something, allowed for the wood to dry out naturally.

In some cases this process would have taken years. This time lapse did wonders for the wood’s cell structure, rendering it stronger and more durable.

The fact that the whole process of construction was so much slower, largely by hand, and more localised also helped, as did the selection of native timbers, which were already adapted for the local climate conditions. Ireland was far more extensively forested in the past than it is now. Timbers that were imported from Africa, the Far East or South America – often merely as ballast in the ships – benefited from the long slow voyage also to acclimatise them.

According to R W Symonds, the pre-eminent authority on English furniture, what makes furniture good is the colour and condition of the wood, the design and ornamentation of the piece and the quality of the craftsmanship.

Quality and rarity are two strong reasons to invest in antiques.

People have a misconception that all antiques are expensive and, of course, the astonishing prices achieved by certain objects at glamorous international sales are well documented. The highest price ever paid at auction for a chair was in 2009 for a piece designed by Irishwoman Eileen Gray – just shy of €22 million (it’s hard to suppress a little national pride). These kinds of prices are as mad as they are exceptional.

The truth is that good quality antiques are not any more expensive than furniture you’d buy in any furniture chain.

My refectory table was an auction buy. It was going for €35 and the auctioneer said, “Will anyone give me €36?”. I put my hand up. I remember the man beside me at the auction said, “You’ve got yourself some table there for €36 . “The glasses on the table are from my granny, Kathleen McAleer from Omagh. I toast her whenever I use them.”

A motto I like to live by is “A poor person can only afford the best”. If you are short of cash it is important that you get the best value out of it. Buying cheap may solve an immediate problem but, in the long term, it is wasted money. My antiques are modest because that’s all I can afford. But that doesn’t matter to me. The enjoyment I get from antiques is the thrill of the find, the lingering hope that I may have struck gold, and it may keep me in my dotage. But the overriding feeling is the simple pleasure of the object itself. I like the things I collect to be used and not stored away safely. I welcome smokers to my house so they can use my lovely collection of ashtrays.

Antiques are good for the planet too. Buying something old saves the energy needed to create the new.

Using someone’s table from the 18th century has avoided the need to create new ones down through the generations. And it has the history of all those family dinners that went before. Think of all the waste that antiques have diverted from going into landfill. For a whole myriad of reasons, antiques are a more responsible choice. Well, that’s what I’ve convinced myself anyway.

For those of you who want to get started on, or who want to expand, your collection to the unique, beautiful and rare, I direct you back to the RDS. There you will find dealers from all around the country, experts and specialists in particular periods, who will be happy to advise, guide and, of course, sell you something beautiful you are guaranteed to cherish for the rest of your life.

Fiona O’Malley works part-time at Niall Mullen Antiques on Francis Street, Dublin. The IADA fair is on today and tomorrow at the RDS Dublin. Antiques Week is held every year during the month of March.