Antiques - why?

Originally Posted by Lucky Strike

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Any comments as to this? I'm really curious.

It certainly is a fantastic piece; however, are you trying to sell or buy it? The answer to the value depends on who's selling and where (city, private dealer, or auction house).

Originally Posted by shqiptar

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It certainly is a fantastic piece; however, are you trying to sell or buy it? The answer to the value depends on who's selling and where (city, private dealer, or auction house).

Sorry about the tardiness in answering - this piece was sold at the auction house where I work. The corresponding value in the US would be the hammer, plus buyer's commission.

I like antique things a lot. Its not only the aesthetic or the pecuniary value, its also the "projective" function they have. When I studied art history we had some course at a museum looking at Renaissance paintings, that had wooden panels as a base. The pics themselves are normally very well conserved (and sometimes even reproduced better in high quality coffee table books containing pictures taken by good cameras, anyway ), and we concentrated more on the content or the composition of the pics themselves, yet when I took the time to inspect the wood they are painted on I only then realized the immense actual age of those things: damn, I thought 500 years have passed since this has been painted (moreso with e.g. Ptolemaic mummery), and looking closely I could really see, nay "feel", the great antiquity of it...if you can touch or really closely inspect the object your understanding of it will acquire a new level of profundity, quasi a new quality and thereby your understanding of also things like history itself will "improve"; those, btw, are some simple hints to some arcane secrets, too. ;D

...so I recommend to everyone (also w. a lower budget), to also at times buy some antiques of maybe not top or low/"fucked up" quality that are cheap but nonetheless can be very old or can have a history that one would have to research oneself...its great fun

...yeah one hears that "collectors" always crave the best quality etc but many of them seem not to be able to comprehend the more hidden secrets of their possessions respectively seem to trade them for fame or greed or some form of deluded idealism in what they strive for....or some other corrupt and worldly things... ...so finalmente: when some famous painting like Munch or some such gets stolen I say: so what?, there's a Munch repro in every other house anyhow (and 'sides theyre impossible to sell off so will turn up w a good likelihood)...good art is destroyed- eventually- just as all things have to perish, and good art is created again and again anew by the next generation by US...so my take on the whole business is to see this stuff more sub specie aeternitatis as a whole yet also enjoy whats still here- in any form, from personal experiences to secondary literature or traveling to some sights....yay for the antique!

I think one can develop aesthetic interest to antiques and become a collector or admirer. The other way for antiques into your heart is through your surroundings.
Things that considered antiques in US are mostly junk. PBS Antiques Road Show anyone? Prices on that junk are even more comedic.

There is completely different situation when it comes to antiques in 3rd world countries or Europe. Many people grew up in old European cities and remember the site, the smell the feel of really old.
In US due to horrible quality of houses very few people exposed to old and beautiful from the early age thus most prefer plastic crap produced in a last 40 years.
Only American elite has been exposed to a real beauty and craftsmanship by living in a great houses and being surrounded by things of beauty and quality.
I believe that surroundings you grew up in, inexplicably and permanently affect your imagination and taste. Thus growing up in a split level ranch in a suburb would make you desire everything Ikea for the rest of your life.

Originally Posted by dkzzzz

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I think one can develop aesthetic interest to antiques and become a collector or admirer. The other way for antiques into your heart is through your surroundings.
Things that considered antiques in US are mostly junk. PBS Antiques Road Show anyone? Prices on that junk are even more comedic.

There is completely different situation when it comes to antiques in 3rd world countries or Europe. Many people grew up in old European cities and remember the site, the smell the feel of really old.
In US due to horrible quality of houses very few people exposed to old and beautiful from the early age thus most prefer plastic crap produced in a last 40 years.
Only American elite has been exposed to a real beauty and craftsmanship by living in a great houses and being surrounded by things of beauty and quality.
I believe that surroundings you grew up in, inexplicably and permanently affect your imagination and taste. Thus growing up in a split level ranch in a suburb would make you desire everything Ikea for the rest of your life.

This is one of the most elitist, eurocentric rants I have ever heard.

The idea that only the elite Americans and Europeans can appreciate beauty is ridiculous. There are and always have been American craftsmen, a large majority of whom are neither rich nor have ever set foot on European soil.

The idea that all American homes are horrible quality is equally laughable.

I like old houses and antiques. Accordingly, my 120 year old house is stocked with several pieces of period furniture.

My passion though is for antique art glass, especially by Louis Comfort Tiffany. I like the different forms he created and the way he used color. From intaglio carvings of ivy to rare colors such as red, he created glass that I enjoy admiring over and over again.

Originally Posted by dkzzzz

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I think one can develop aesthetic interest to antiques and become a collector or admirer. The other way for antiques into your heart is through your surroundings. Things that considered antiques in US are mostly junk. PBS Antiques Road Show anyone? Prices on that junk are even more comedic. There is completely different situation when it comes to antiques in 3rd world countries or Europe. Many people grew up in old European cities and remember the site, the smell the feel of really old. In US due to horrible quality of houses very few people exposed to old and beautiful from the early age thus most prefer plastic crap produced in a last 40 years. Only American elite has been exposed to a real beauty and craftsmanship by living in a great houses and being surrounded by things of beauty and quality. I believe that surroundings you grew up in, inexplicably and permanently affect your imagination and taste. Thus growing up in a split level ranch in a suburb would make you desire everything Ikea for the rest of your life.
I'm stunned.

Originally Posted by iammatt

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I think that one reason that some people have a distaste for contemporary furniture is that they are only exposed to Ikea and ZGalerie, and not good modern design. Firms like Cappellini, Moooi and Zanotta (somewhat) are producing the pieces of furniture that are being shown in Modern art museums throughout the world. They are a far cry from Ikea.

I was looking at these occassional tables by Montis called "Spots." Have you any word on the company's work?

I like antique mirrors, old mirrors with chips in the silvering and frames.

Originally Posted by Lucky Strike

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Elsie de Wolfe, the legendary interior designer in the "tart's boudoir" style (think gilt rococo overdose) described her living as "Introducing new money to old furniture".

I wish I had a few rooms like this

Art Deco and Nouveau. Unfortunately it doesn't match our very 1960 condo building. it's more 1960 resort (yes in DC it makes no sense) than anything near Deco.

My main problem is price. We recently found a great antiques store nearby that has stuff I could just cry over. You could decorate an entire home from this place. But the prices are waaaaay beyond what we can afford.

For now we stick with small stuff like an art nouveau vases or bookends when we run across something.


b

Originally Posted by johnapril

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I like antique mirrors, old mirrors with chips in the silvering and frames.

I have the mirror that was hanging on the wall of the bedroom in which my grandfather was born - I origionally inherited a dresser that had the mirror attached, but insect damage destroyed the rest of the piece, so I remounted the mirror. it does, in fact, have a few chips.

I believe that surroundings you grew up in, inexplicably and permanently affect your imagination and taste.

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possibly for the first time ever, I agree with D - I seriously considered moving my family to Prague for just that reason: I thought that it would be a great advantage to raise my family surrounded by so much beuty.

Anyone care to speculate what style is this and who is possibly the designer?

Looks very constructivist to me (almost F. Leger like). I am not a fan of ornate pieces ,but this one strikes a chord.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA:IT&ih=020

Originally Posted by dkzzzz

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Anyone care to speculate what style is this and who is possibly the designer? Looks very constructivist to me (almost F. Leger like). I am not a fan of ornate pieces ,but this one strikes a chord. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300205663225&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=020
Finding a named designer for this will be difficult. It's well made, but not exceptional quality. The joinery of the drawers is run-of-the-mill. If you look closely at the three panels that make up the two doors on the top half, you'll see that they're the same design, only with the middle panel flipped - a typical shortcut, of the type you hate when you notice it. I'd guess it's made by a jobbing small manufacturer with some standards when it came to quality, but who didn't follow through on design. I don't think a front like that, broken up in panels and handles all over the drawers and doors like that, would come from neither an academically nor craft-taught designer. There are some collectors here who have seen far more stuff from this period than me, though.

Originally Posted by dkzzzz

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Anyone care to speculate what style is this and who is possibly the designer?

Looks very constructivist to me (almost F. Leger like). I am not a fan of ornate pieces ,but this one strikes a chord.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA:IT&ih=020

I rather like this set, but the price seems very high:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Swedish-Modern-D...QQcmdZViewItem

Originally Posted by LabelKing

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I rather like this set, but the price seems very high: http://cgi.ebay.com/Swedish-Modern-D...QQcmdZViewItem
$4.000? Very!