The most interesting auctions are more than the sum of their lots. It can be fascinating to imagine the stories linked to collections born of people’s passions, and the lives behind some of the items going under the hammer. From a Romanian bear to an embossed gold bar, via a pair of charming console tables and a reimagined Victorian greenhouse, the lots at Victor Mee’s upcoming Decorative Interiors and Garden Sale speak of an intriguing past and give clues to the fashions of the future. So what is coming next?
“They say gilt is coming back into fashion,” says Bryan Mee, who put together the lots. “And Victorian-era furniture, which will make a lot of auction houses and sellers, very happy.” There is also the beginnings of a move to more delicately fancy pieces, perhaps as an antidote to all that pared-back minimalism we have been embracing, so if you’re ready to be an early adopter, you may be interested in a pair of French painted bedside cabinets with marble tops (Lot 28, €300-€600), which, while they may not quite transform your bedroom into Versailles, could give you a decorative edge. Mee also picks out a pair of Italian console tables, painted in a pattern of soft blues. Lots 43 and 44 are selling separately at €2,000-€4,000 apiece.
Solid, good quality mahogany is still remarkably good value when you consider the craftsmanship and the material. Lot 77, a bachelor’s chest of drawers is estimated at €220-€300. Bachelors’ chests were so called because they were said to be ideal for the single gentleman, and many – though not this one – had a pull-out leaf for writing such notes as the busy bachelor needed to send. Who knows whether such items of furniture were expelled from post-wedding homes, but this one is very nice whatever your relationship status.
Furniture that we tend to have less use for these days is still a snip, and well worth it if you can think of a clever alternative use. Mee describes one client who picked up an old horse feeder for a song, and transformed it into an outdoor kitchen/BBQ area, its troughs becoming a firepit and smoker. The work is done for you with Lot 1154: this 19th-century French wrought-iron and glass greenhouse has been re-made, according to Mee, with pieces salvaged from a much larger one, so you can add some class to your garden and bring on your seedlings in a style borrowed from some stately chateau somewhere. Estimate: €1,500-€2,500.
You would need to put a bit of thought into lot 905, an Edwardian mahogany and satinwood display cabinet. The guide price of €100-€200 epitomises the term half-nothing, but seeing as these days most of our display is saved for social media, this piece would need to earn its keep. A drinks cabinet perhaps, or a larder in an exceptionally elegant kitchen?
Does this shift mean there is a decline in the demand for mid-century modern? “At the high end, no,” says Mee. “The good designers are still holding their value, but the middle-of-the-road market is tailing off.” This is due to changing tastes, but it is also because the midcentury trend is now readily available as new in interiors shops everywhere.
He singles out an original 20th-century Maison Jansen brass palm tree table lamp. The Paris-based firm, known for its lavish designs, closed down in the 1980s. With scarcity adding to its cachet, lot 12 has an estimate of €1,500-€3,000. Go the whole hog and throw in lot 8, an Italian art deco-style walnut credenza (or sideboard in simple language). Such are the vagaries of market desire that it is estimated at about half the price of the lamp, at €800-€1,600.
And what about that bear? Lot 747 is a full-size taxidermy brown bear. “Certainly not an item one would find very often. It was Romanian,” says Mee. “He’s in very good condition, and probably dates from around 1910 to 1920.” If you think about the era, that means if he hadn’t been stuffed, he would probably have been turned into a fur coat. Standing up, he’d be worth more. “He is on wheels,” says Mee. If this kind of thing is up your alley, he’s estimated at €1,200-€1,400. “He will most likely go to a private collector, or a hotel. I used to have a giraffe in my kitchen. I do have very high ceilings.”
A bit too much for you? Treat yourself to Lot 1416, a 50-gramme gold bar in its original packaging. “Coins have a higher value than their gold value, but ingots are speculative investment pieces. You buy gold to hold,” says Mee. Buy this one for an estimate of €2,000-€4,000. Something to cuddle late at night?
Decorative Interiors & Garden Sale, July 23rd to July 25th, victormeeauctions.ie
What did it sell for?
Bourget en Lac, Aix-Les-Bains by Edith Somerville
Estimate €350-€420
Hammer price €2,800
Auction house Fonsie Mealy
Paul Henry tourism poster, Mount Errigal
Estimate €250-€350
Hammer price €220
Auction house Fonsie Mealy
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