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Antique Questions Forum / Re: Need help with date and value of two (King and Queen) armchairs

« on: November 06, 2009, 04:26:29 pm »

Thank you for the reply, I'm going to take them to an expert over the weekend to find out for sure their age, value, etc.  Do you know if there are any identifying marks to look for to determine the builder?  Also, here's a little more info:

Metal spring cushions
Embroidered fabric
Convex push pins with dimpled heads

Very few antique chairs carry identifying marks that would allow one to ascertain who made them (although there are exceptions like Stickley). Older 18th -19th century chairs that are valuable, high style pieces almost never have a makers mark but are usually attributed to a particular cabinetmaker based on construction and detail features that are unique to that particular cabinetmaker.

In the case of your chairs, they are most likely factory made and the most you might expect to find would be some chalk numbers used in the factory to identify a particular lot. Once the machine age arrived around the turn of the century, furniture production quickly moved from small independent cabinetmakers to large assembly line factories that could churn out hundreds of pieces a day. Empire Revival furniture was sold in large quantities during the early 1900s through the Sears catalogue and major department stores.

I've attached a pic of a chair of similar vintage and design. While this pictured chair shares many of the basic design characteristics of your chairs, it appears that your chairs are certainly more elaborate and the ball and claw carving is much finer. While the chairs are certainly attractive, in their present condition, I'd put a value of $450 for the pair on a good day. If you're planning to sell them, I'd just clean them up and sell them as is. Investing in re-upholstering them will be a losing proposition as you'd be lucky to increase the value of the chairs 40c for every dollar spent on reupholstry. Good luck.

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Antique Questions Forum / Re: Need help with date and value of two (King and Queen) armchairs

« on: November 06, 2009, 06:34:32 am »

Would be easier to identify if you posted larger pics here but they appear to be Empire Revival his and hers parlor chairs probably dating from around 1915 or so. The "ball & claw" feet are inspired by Chippendale design and put these chairs in a higher value category than the standard parlor chairs of this period which would usually have plain legs. Looks like mahoghany but hard to tell from the pics so, at the very least, mahoghany finish. These would have been considered high end chairs at the time of their original manufacture and were usually offered as a set of six ( these 2 chairs + 4 side chairs (no arms and slightly smaller) +, possibly, a sofa. Hope this helps.

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Antique Questions Forum / Re: Chair with carved lion heads and rounded design

« on: October 31, 2009, 04:34:46 pm »

What you have is a "curule" chair, related to Roman design. This example most likely dates from 1910-1915 I would estimate. These were usually manufactured in oak or maple/birch with a mahoghany finish. This one appears to also feature mahoghany veneer on the back splat. Very nice chair.

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Antique Questions Forum / Re: help with value for victorian childs rocking chair commode

« on: October 28, 2009, 04:40:39 am »

The Terms & Conditions of this contest contain a few red flag clauses. Most worrisome for me would be that there is one person, Norma Rogers, who will determine who the winner is based on the ethereal "true value" of an antique. This single judge format (as well as the judgement criteria) makes the contest a prime candidate for unscrupulous manipulation. What's to stop the judge from arranging for a friend to submit a predetermined entry for the win?

It's a clever way to unload one's house I suppose, but the whole structure of this "contest" seems pretty flimsy and certainly wouldn't be legal where I live. There doesn't appear to be any government agency overseeing it and ensuring that it's above board and follows all appropriate rules & regulations in order to ensure that it is fair and legal.

I'd save my money and not go anywhere near this thing.

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Antique Questions Forum / Re: Carving on Wood Frame

« on: October 24, 2009, 07:49:25 am »

If it was an original hand carved stone original piece, the value would be healthy. As previously stated though, it's most likely a resin (plastic) casting with minimal value.

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Antique Questions Forum / Re: Dog Opinions??

« on: October 22, 2009, 09:51:37 pm »

Creepy!

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Antique Questions Forum / Re: Could anybody tell me something about this foldable table??

« on: October 22, 2009, 09:50:11 pm »

My guess: Looks like a 1930s telephone table and bench. The phone book would be placed in the open table "drawer" and mail and newspapers would go in the top magazine rack. Interesting design.

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Antique Questions Forum / Re: HELP IDENTIFY THIS UNIQUE CARVED TABLE! new photos

« on: October 22, 2009, 09:43:02 pm »

Seeing the underside of the table confirms for me that this is new Indonesian furniture. I've had a number of early 18th century tables and can't recall ever seeing one that's been varnished on the underside.    Similar items are churned through a large local auction house here in Montreal every month and most of it is Rococo or Baroque in design. Most of the pieces look decent from a distance but once you're within a few paces of the piece it's apparent that the carving on the pieces is clumsy and rough and the construction is unrefined. I've seen authentic period 18th century and 19th century French furniture at the Musee des Beaux Arts and the carving, detailing, and construction of these pieces is exquisite.

The Indonesian furniture is also very prone to splitting and cracking in the Northern American climate given the differences in humidity and temperature so this would be another indicator.

$40.00 is still a very good price for a decorative piece like this as they usually sell at the auction house for $200 or so + buyers premium and taxes.

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Antique Questions Forum / Re: HELP IDENTIFY THIS UNIQUE CARVED TABLE!

« on: October 21, 2009, 09:10:54 pm »

From the pictures it looks to me like the new Indonesian stuff that's being brought in via container to fill up auction houses. Functional and decorative, but not an antique.

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Antique Questions Forum / Re: Trunk identification help

« on: October 19, 2009, 04:02:30 pm »

Looks to date around the turn of the century imo. Definitely not worth investing any great effort or $ to restore as the trunk doesn't really have any exceptional design qualities or features (ie: unique metalwork or sought after design). I used to see these come into the auctions I used to frequent and sell for $10-$15 in this condition.

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Antique Questions Forum / Re: coca cola empty rack----help!!!

« on: October 19, 2009, 03:56:22 pm »

I'm by no means a Coke memorabilia expert but the type font on the piece screams 1970s to me. Most of the coke graphic styles went across the entire breadth of their marketing and advertising campaign in any given period as far as I've observed. Last year I came across a collection of National Geographics from 1915 through 1980 that commonly featured Coke ads on the back cover through this time period. Again, this type font most closely resembles the font used in their early to mid 70's ads.

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Antique Questions Forum / Re: WhatNot Shelf/Bookshelf

« on: October 18, 2009, 05:30:57 pm »

I'd say it's probably from the 1940s, 1950s. The back is made of plywood and indicate it's a factory made piece. I would guess also that the sides of the piece are veneered. It appears to be a piece that mimics elements of 18th century Chippendale design but definitely mid 20th century in manufacture.

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Antique Questions Forum / Re: Antique Dresser Identification

« on: October 11, 2009, 03:10:09 pm »

We have an antique dresser that was handed down in the family.  Can anyone identify this dresser?  It appears to be walnut wood.  There is a very interesting cut into the wood around the drawer slots.  

It's circa 1875 or so, Renaissance Revival. The pics are kind of small but it looks like walnut veneer. I'm going to guess that the drawer pulls aren't the original ones since they're Hepplewhite style. These pieces usually have the ebonized teardrop handles. Also, this piece most likely had a large mirror and ornate frieze originally. Hope this helps.

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Antique Questions Forum / Re: I need help with my china cabinet, and desk PLEASE Help

« on: October 11, 2009, 02:57:23 pm »

The oak cabinet does indeed date from the late 1800s to early 1900s (probably in the 1890-1910 period), serpentine front, and the frieze carving certainly makes it a higher end cabinet of the period. I suppose value would depend on your region, but I would guess the $2000-$2500 area if it's as good as it looks to be in the pictures.

The other piece looks to be more of an entrance foyer table. I had a very similar table some years ago but it was a "pier" table as it had a mirror on the back bottom (supposedly for checking out one's petticoat or something . It's Empire design and dates from 1830-1850 I'd say. Nice mahoghany veneer. Looking at it though, I just get the feeling that something is missing (perhaps a small frieze across the top?). As is, probably $500 or so with the mirror.