Just a thought about this mass production era we live in.
Will the well made custom work done by master craftsmen (many unknown) today, be priceless and treasured two centuries from now, or will antiques remain tied to the 18th century, making today’s heirlooms go unnoticed by the future generation?
Any thoughts?
Replies
Quality, beauty, rarity will always be valued. The best of every generation will live on. The cream rises to the top.
Hi Willie ,
I think Samson has got it right . What may be is some work will be more collectable and in demand ( Maloof for example ) even though not real old as antiques . Much furniture produced about half way thru the 19th century is very popular and costly at times as well as the best of the current works will always be hot . New Masters I hope will continue to evolve to enrich our world .
dusty
Yes, it will.
I've seen things such as the Architect Frank Gehry's limited edition furniture only ten years old going up in auction. Nakashima, early Wendell Castle furniture, is going up in value so the answer is yes. It's not limited to individual craftsmen either. Certain scarce production items of unique design will increase in value as well.
Here's one thing I've thought about. The high-value furnture you see on shows like the Antiques Roadshow (UK version) is nearly always made by identifiable makers, or in identifiable styles (and hence, by conventional, commercial, shops). Then, the best furniture was made by time-served craftsmen and tradesmen in commercial shops.
Now, almost all the very best furniture is made by studio makers, many with relatively small outputs, and there is no consistency of style or construction. How will that stuff be valued in future? Very hard to say, but I think the experts of 2105 will value according to quality, materials, provenance (who owned it, rather than who made it) and visual attributes (how pretty it is).
MalcolmNew Zealand | New Thinking0.06% of the world's people are Kiwis
I think it will be a mix of who made it and who owned it. Plenty of examples right now. Picasso made sculptures with nonarchival materials that are valued highly. Gehry has a series of furniture made with carboard that is highly collectible. There's a bunch of old furniture in a museum near me that in a typical household would have been trash in no time but because it was kept by wealthier folks it's been preserved. I can bet 100 years from now there will be antiques that will be made with pocket screws.
Interesting thought on "who owned it". That would put a premium price on something that was made for a particular client.
Yeah. Said that because I heard one of the UK experts on Antiques Roadshow say today (I was home for lunch) that increasingly it is provenance that determines value - or at least premium value. If it belonged to Winston Churchill, its worth a lot more than the same item with no known previous ownership, or an 'ordinary' previous owner! I's noticed that in many appraisals over the programmes.New Zealand | New Thinking0.06% of the world's people are Kiwis
Yep...
One of my projects at a Antique show.. Little old lady walks up and says..'Now THAT is beautiful' as the other old lady walks off mumbling' 'What a piece of Crap'...
There are plenty of examples of furniture made in the (now) last century that are collectors' items--Stickley, Haywood Wakefield, French art nouveau and deco. It will obviously evolve.
Gretchen
Edited 7/31/2005 8:50 pm ET by GRETCHEN
Gretchen,
I usually see you over in Cooks Talk.
Rick1 - measure the board twice, 2 - cut it once, 3 - measure the space where it is supposed to go 4 - get a new board and go back to step 1
Yup. Here too occasionally.Gretchen
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