Author Topic: victorian sofa, ivory and curio  (Read 1620 times)

trap121

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victorian sofa, ivory and curio
« on: September 08, 2011, 01:26:24 pm »
Can someone please help me with an estimate on these items? I have looked everywhere and cant find anything. Everything was given to me by my father when he passed so I dont know much about the items.








talesofthesevenseas

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Re: victorian sofa, ivory and curio
« Reply #1 on: September 08, 2011, 03:58:32 pm »
The sofa is beautiful. Sadly however, Victorian sofas don't have a lot of value, because people prefer less formal couches in this day and age. These sell from free to about $500 on craigslist in my area. Yours is particularly beautiful though and has been nicely reupholstered, so you have a better chance of selling it than most of them. I wish parlor furniture like this was better appreciated. (I love it!) Try running a search on your local craigslist to see some examples of pricing.

The cabinet with the lyre-shaped bar over it is a commode. A chamber pot would go in the little cupboard in the bottom, a pitcher and bowl would sit out on the top, and towels would hang on the bar. If you run a Google search for commode towel bar, you'll see lots like yours. An average price looks to be about $300 - $500. These also come up with a search for washstand towel bar.

« Last Edit: September 08, 2011, 04:00:15 pm by talesofthesevenseas »
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talesofthesevenseas

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Re: victorian sofa, ivory and curio
« Reply #2 on: September 08, 2011, 04:04:10 pm »
Read through this info on identifying ivory, bone and celluloid. There are some good examples that will help you to determine if what you have is actually ivory or not. You need to look for a double criss-crossing grain, which can be very difficult to see.

http://www.antique-shop.com/forums/index.php?topic=6485.0
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trap121

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Re: victorian sofa, ivory and curio
« Reply #3 on: September 09, 2011, 07:24:18 am »
Thanks for the info. All the ivory is real  ;D,  any idea what it is worth?

talesofthesevenseas

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Re: victorian sofa, ivory and curio
« Reply #4 on: September 09, 2011, 11:07:32 am »
I think you are going to need to get a hands-on appraisal to determine the value. Ivory pieces can be tough to value because one one hand you have some people who love ivory, on the other people who hate it due to the slaughter of animals and on the other a growing Asian antiques market. I would find someone (antique dealer or appraiser) who regularly deals in antique Asian ivory pieces. 
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