Who buys 100 year old Burmese Furniture

[joyful34]

Hello wise ones,
My father wants me to sell his Burmese Teak furniture.  He loves it but is now wanting to sell it.  I would love some ideas on who would love this type of furniture and what sort of price he could get for it.

The furniture itself has a history and my 82 year old father reckons it is well worth 100k.  He sure fell in love with it and had to have it while on his travels.  I am sure its a niche buy and would like to know where I can find that niche.

This exquisite 8 piece lounge suite was hand-carved in Pagan, Burma.  It took two master craftsmen ten months to complete.  It is 100 years old and after completion the suite was sent to Thailand, where, for a short time it was exhibited in the palace in Bangkok.  There is a couch, four chairs, a long table and two small ones. 

I am going to do my best to upload photos now, just got to figure out how.
Kind Thanks to you all for your help.
Joy Sheehan

[KC]

Welcome to the forum Joyful34!

What beautiful pieces of furniture and great pictures.

In order to demand any type of pricing for history of an item there has to be documentation.  Do you have any documentation/proof that these pieces were 1) in fact carved in Pagan and the year carved 2) the names of the 2 artisans to carved them and documentation of the time that it took and especially 3) some type of proof that this was in fact displayed in the Thai palace.

With documentation on pieces of this type it will only prove to increase value.

[regularjoe2]

Welcome to the forum , joyful34 .

What KC said is true , I think .

If these items were/are what you've been told they are , artists 'sigs/marks' should be present , somewhere , on your pieces .

They do appear to be hand-carved items , but perhaps the story of the length of time that was taken to produce them is exaggerated , IMO (although I can't really tell from your images , regarding the style,motif & carving skill/details) .

Teak is nice stuff , and it looks like a fine set .
Documenting the 'chain of owners' would/might be of some importance too .

I don't know of anyone who might pay as much as your father reckons the set is worth , though .

[Chinese Antique Furniture]

Hi joyful,

I certainly agree with the two posts preceding mine.  Assuming that you are able to achieve that which they suggest (which you definitely should do) the market for pure Burmese furniture will probably be the greatest in Burma.  I know that the Chinese resident in China scour the US looking to buy superior Chinese items brought to the US many years ago.  I don't know if the same holds true for Burma, but it would be where I would start.

In any event, lots of luck. 

[luxetveritas]

Unfortunately, even if you have the latter documentation, I don't think it will bring even close to 100k. I've seen a similar teak Burmese bench that sold for only $700, and it had been in a famous temple for over a hundred years. However, it IS becoming exceedingly hard to find Burmese and Thai pieces in the US, so if you can find a collector you will get a better answer. How much did your father pay for the set?

[luxetveritas]

You might try http://thaiart.com/index.htm They are renowned specialists in Burmese and Cambodian art and may be able to help you. 

[OLDZ06]

This reminds me of some old chinese teak wood furniture my grandmother owns even though it is not the same stuff just similar  because of all the hand  carvings.

[syl]

Probably the best way to determine possible value is to contact auction houses that deal with furniture. They should be able to tell you fairly quickly if what you have has real collector value.

[wendy177]

I Agree with documentation on the history of your pieces and sending photos to auction houses try Southeby's & Christies. Email  them history & photos it will take up to 4 weeks to get a response so be patient.

Good luck