Announcing our new exhibition by

 Eric Gabb. 

'Mountain Range'

'Algarve Coast'

'Algarve Coast'

'Golden Girl'

Specialising in Silver

Silver is a beautiful metal whose use is literally as old as the hills. Silver metalworkers developed superb levels of craftsmanship over the centuries and this ongoing skill and sophistication amongst silversmiths continues to this day. 






The collector has a wide choice and can specialise by type as well as in terms of age and history. Silver from the early Georgian or even earlier periods is quite rare and therefore rather expensive.   The later Georgian period is more affordable, as are the ornate and profuse Victorian wares.   Always popular is silver from Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau, and Art Deco periods.

Silver Tea Caddy

Serving Dish

The collector of British silver has the advantage of the hallmarking system where an independent assay office stamps the maker’s mark, quality, and date on each piece of silver.  People do also like to collect the discontinued assay offices such as Chester and Exeter.   An amateur can appear to have a little knowledge by glancing at the hallmarking guides which really does fit into a pocket when going to the antique fairs.  

When investing in silver another advantage is that it is a precious metal with its own value, without considering any value in the workmanship or rarity. This can turn into a curse - when the 'scrap' price was over £20 per ounce in 2011 many potential collectable items must have been smelted down, a very sad occurrence.

The Beauty of Wood

One of the things I enjoy most about antiques is seeing all the lovely woods used to make the pieces of furniture. Instead of a thin veneer of top of MDF, you get all the warmth and beauty of Oak, Walnut, Flame Mahogany, Satinwood, Coromandel, and many others. These woods have their own unique characteristics, and no two pieces of furniture will be exactly the same, even though made of the same type of wood, as each grain pattern is unique. On top of using different woods, the designer can chose carving or inlay to further enhance the wood.

Here are some of my favourites, either that are in the shop now, or that have passed through recently.

Walnut and Brass Box

Coromandel Box

Flame Mahogany Chest of Drawers

Satinwood Chest of Drawers

And then the wood can be embellished:-

Stunning Inlaid Corner Cupboard

Panelled Oak Chest

This is my absolute favourite, an ebonised and fretwork nursing chair, the photograph does not do it justice.

What a difference a few months make to the weather. Our customers are coming in wearing lovely summery clothes instead of being all wrapped up in coats and scarves. They are still looking for that special piece of furniture that has just the look they want and is of the right dimensions.

Of course, online sales are always useful, but it can be tricky organising delivery. We have just sent a large wardrobe to Norfolk, and a lady in Canada loved our Viennese clock, but it was around £400 to deliver it.

By the way, we are revamping the gallery side of the business, which has always been dear to our hearts, there will be more news of that in the future.

With Mother’s Day just around the corner, why not pay us a visit and see if you can find that special gift for that special Mum.

 

We have many appealing paintings by local artists. 

For example, the badger is £45.

Jewelry and scent bottles make nice gifts.  

Here are a modern silver bangle and a blue scent bottle.

And some more ideas -

The temperature has really dropped in the last few days. Our customers don't seem to mind, they are well wrapped up already, and don't need to take off their coats to try a chair for size. Of course we sell many items through the internet, especially www.sellingantiques.co.uk who were mentioned in the Saturday Telegraph Property Section this weekend.

China Cabinet

We recently welcomed a new dealer who has joined us to specialise in china and pottery items. She particularly likes Art Deco and has brought in a double cabinet full of her lovely pieces.

Edwardian Revolving Bookcase

We are always getting interesting new stock, apart from the usual chests of drawers, desks, tables, and wardrobes that are so popular. Have a look at this round double revolving bookcase, or the wonderfully tactile jade amulet.

Jade Dragon Amulet

New Vendor, Specializing in Silver

We have a new vendor in who specializes in silver items. What caught my fancy was a tiny prayer book with silver covers. The front cover has embossed angels on it.






This dealer also has a model of The Beatles Yellow Submarine - no one can accuse us of not having variety!