Antiques in the Brave New World?
Brian Goodison-Blanks reflects on whether antiques have a place in the brave
new world and observes how some traditional staples of the saleroom have declined
and been surplanted by mid-20th century space age design.
A 'High Society' 1960s Swivel Armchair After the Design by Peter Cutts (FS24/861).
In the 21st century with the accelerating increase of the digital revolution and
technological design, it would seem prudent to ask 'Do antiques have any place in
this brave new world?' As auctioneers, you may think with have a bias in our response,
but quite simply the answer to the above question is 'Yes'.
Markets and fashion change as we have seen in the past decade since the Millennium,
and so too has the auction world.
live internet bidding
and auctions posted on our website have provided a global market of buyers and collectors
for our clients selling with us from our
South West of England Saleroom Complex in Exeter.
Our weekly
Antiques and Collectables Auctions
include
Furniture,
Ceramics and Glass,
Pictures
as well as
Collectables,
which still continue to attract buyers, while our
Fine Art Auctions
and Specialist Sales (such as our
Maritime Auctions,
Antiquarian Book Sales
and
Sporting and Collectors Auctions)
cater for the demands of the specialist collector. It is true that some of the traditional
staple market pieces have begun to fall by the wayside, but as the demand for Victorian
tea services and chamber pots has declined the market has shifted its concentration
to other areas.
In a certain sense of irony, one of the areas that has risen to the surface in the
21st century is the demand for the space age designs of furniture of the mid-20th
century.
At a time when the space race had become a reality and the feeling that we would
be living on Mars or at least the moon by 2001, designers embraced the change of
direction culturally and the results have become icons fiercely contested over in
the current auction market.
A White Fibreglass 1960s Ball Chair After the Design by Eero Aarnio (FS24/867).
One such piece is the
Ball chair designed by Erro Arrino
in 1963 (FS24/867), which is instantly recognisable. To one generation, it will
remind them of Patrick McGoohan running away from a weather balloon on
a beach in The Prisoner, to another it will be of Austin Powers
(even the latter reference becoming alarmingly outdated). Simplistic to the point
of perfection, the Ball chair is surprisingly comfortable and, as with all successful
designs, has been copied but never beaten. Original examples fetch around £1,000-£1,500
at auction.
The futuristic appearance of this design and many of the pieces by designers such
as Charles and Ray Eames, Joe Colombo, Harry Bertoia
and Arne Jacobsen are oddly now antiques, despite the modern thinking behind
their conception. In this sense antiques are still relevant today as new buyers
and collectors become nostalgic about the future.
- Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood
- 20th Century Furniture
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About the Author
 | Brian Goodison-Blanks
Collectables and Toys
Maritime
SportingBrian Goodison-Blanks is the Head of the Maritime and Sporting Department at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood. Originally from London, Brian Goodison-Blanks was educated in the South East and Hampshire obtaining an Honours degree in Archaeology, American Studies and Japanese culture from King Alfred’s College, Winchester. Following a short spell working for Canterbury and Colchester Archaeological Trusts as well as The Ambel Project in Aragon, Northern Spain, he joined a well-respected local auction house in 1995 as a trainee general valuer, rising to Auction Room Manager. In 2004 Brian joined Hampton & Littlewood with special responsibility for re-introducing the specialist Maritime Sale to the South West after a 15 Year absence. Brian’s interest in country sports has also led him to introduce the annual Sporting sale.
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Antiques in the Brave New World? was written on Thursday, 30th October 2014.