Petition to Government for Increased Industry Support

Please click here to sign the petition.

Last year many antique and fine art dealers were forced to close their premises as a direct result of high rent and business rate increases, at a faster rate than in previous recessions. While the Chancellor’s rethink on the previously tabled increase in business rates shows some sensitivity to the needs of businesses, it does not do enough to help this often overlooked sector.

Antiques.co.uk has created an online petition that will be submitted to the Government to lobby for increased support and encouragement for the industry in this time of need.

Please consider signing the petition. Your voice will go a long way to helping the industry as a whole and help keep the Antiques and Fine Art trade healthy and stable.

Once we have obtained as many signatures as possible we shall be delivering this petition to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon Alistair Darling MP to gain his response.

To submit your signature and comments to the petition, simply click here: Sign the Petition

A copy of the original letter as it appeared in The Times can be viewed here, whilst the current petition signatories can be viewed below.

There are currently over 1000 signatures on the petition.

A Large Scale Anglo Indian Sadeli Box from IDHOME antiques, boxes and

A Large Scale Anglo Indian Sadeli Box from IDHOME antiques, boxes and.

I found this box last week, it is a beautiful object and has a fascinating provenance.

A sadeli work box of large scale worked with fine geometric patterns of cut and stained ivory, pewter and silver, with bands of ebony and ivory. The lid opening to a fitted sandalwood interior above a drawer with writing slope and original ivory ruler. All the metal ware is silver including the key.

India, Bombay, circa 1850

Width 17 inches    43 cm
Depth 11 1/4 inches   29cm
Height 5 1/4 inches    13cm

The box has been restored at the expense of the back panel which was beyond repair.

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The box belonged to Frances Russell Hall and dates to the mid nineteenth century, she was the grand daughter of George Byng, 6th. Viscount Torrington.

The provenance is particularly interesting as Frances married Charles Davis Lucas who was under her fathers  (W.H.Hall) command and had served in the Royal Navy throughout the far east including India. Lucas received the first ever Victoria Cross for an outstanding act of bravery.

In the early hours of June 21, 1854, while taking part in an attack on a heavily defended Russian fortress at Bomarsund during the Crimean War, Midshipman Lucas, then aged 20, picked up a heavy, unexploded shell with a hissing fuse from the deck of his ship, HMS Hecla, to toss it into the sea.

Although the shell detonated before it hit the water, only minor damage was caused to the vessel. The ship’s commander, Captain W. H. Hall, instantly promoted Lucas to acting lieutenant and noted in his log that without his “great coolness and presence of mind . . . dozens of lives if not the ship’s company would have been lost”.

Although there was a tradition of army service in the family, Lucas chose to serve in the Navy and enlisted when he was just 13. By the time he was 18, he had been on active service in the Far East and had been awarded the Indian Service Medal.

After the Crimean War, and the award of the Victoria Cross, Lucas’s naval career prospered and by the time he retired from service in 1879 he was a rear-admiral.

A perfect Dunhill Aquarium Lighter

It is very rare to find something that is in such good condition that it could have come from the shop only yesterday. You would think it was a fake but there is no doubt in that this Dunhill lighter is as genuine as they come and is probably the most perfect lighter to have been offered for years. It has never been lit, or filled with fuel, the flint has never been struck and the surface has not even one tiny scratch.

At over 1lb, this lighter is no feather weight, and neither is the asking price of …… POA

http://www.idhome.co.uk

20th Century Wood Carvings from Enugu, Nigeria

A charming decorative wooden box carved in high relief throughout, the ends with deeply carved palm trees, the front with snake charmers, and the reverse with monkeys  among stylised trees. The hinged top with the city of Enugu and Nigeria flanking a plam tree and dated 1945. The coffer opens to a plain interior.

Height 5 1/4in – 13cm
Width 10in – 25.5cm
Depth 6in – 15cm

www.idhome.co.uk
Enugu, Nigeria, 1945

This box has a wonderful rich patina, the carving is interesting, well composed and attractively stylised. It is a very good size with a spaciouse interior and is useful for both storage and decoration.

Researching it however or finding comparative pieces is hard work. There dont seem to be any similar pieces around but the style and composition suggest that these were made by skilled craftsmen who had an artistic and decorative ability.

Do you ahve anything similar? The blog would be a brilliant place to show comaprative pieces.

A Very Rare Tea Caddy

Sometimes when you see something exceptional, it sends a shiver down your spine. This may not be everyone’s cup of tea (excuse the pun) but this caddy sent a shiver down my spine like a bolt of lightening. It is probably the most exceptional tea caddy of its type that is currently on the market.

Please have a look at the description below and contact us for further information.  www.idhome.co.uk

An exceptionally rare and unusual tea caddy in the form of a barrel. Retaining the green stained surface and the original lead lining remains almost completely intact.

England, circa 1770

This is a formidably rare Georgian tea caddy. We know of only one other, and have never seen this particular design. Stylistically, this caddy falls into the same group as the coveted apple, pear and melon designs of the late 18th century. Similar to the melons, this caddy has a mottled green surface that has ‘fractured’ with time. The colour sits over the wonderful subtle grain of the base fruit wood, and the aged patina envelopes the whole piece. We have seen countless apples, pears and melons but this falls into another category all together. We are thrilled to have owned it for this short period. It will sell to an exceptionally lucky collector who has the good fortune to come across this first.

www.idhome.co.uk

Very fine Collection of Porcupine Quill Boxes

I’m very pleased to present our lastest collection of Porcupine Quill Boxes.

Visit the collection at www.IDHOME.co.uk you will not be disappointed.

Please contact us for further information

Thanks in advance

Nick

All change in the London Art & Antique Market

A great London event that has been the focus of the art market for the past 75 years has come to an abrupt end. 2009 was the last year and this news will come as a shock to the trade and clients alike.

For 75 years the hotel and the art and antiques trade have enjoyed a happy and productive relationship, but it has been decided in consultation with the British Antique Dealers’ Association and The Grosvenor House Art & Antiques Fair Executive Committee that the Fair is no longer financially viable. The closure of this much-loved fair, however, presents an opportunity for the trade to mount a new event commensurate with maintaining London as the centre of the art market.

We look forward to seeing how the art market developes and where  the new London fairs will take place.

Starting a specialist art and antiques library

When it comes to buying antiques, knowing what you are looking at is crucial. One could think that all the knowledge that anyone needs is published on the internet, but as in many areas of specialization there are huge areas where there is very little to refer to.

If you want to find out about a specialist area, then you need to buy the book. The problem is that these specialist books were often only printed in short runs and are often out of print. This knocks onto to prohibitively high prices. There are several examples that come to mind where the scarcity of the book has pushed prices sky high.

The truth is that within these books lies a mountain of knowledge that will ultimately save you time and sharpen your focus on the pursuit of that great object. My recommendation is – buy the book. Its a win win situation where your book gives you much of the information you need and it is even appreciating in value while you hold onto it.

Knowledge is king, and having the book makes it a lot easier. For the purpose of buying books, that has all become an awful lot easier over the Internet. Every book dealers on the Internet and you can find books within seconds. I buy books from everywhere, the last I bought came from Texas. The best site I believe is www.abe.com, eBay is also a great source and Amazon throws up some stunning books for literally pennies under the new and used section.

If you were considering buying books speculatively then I would advise concentrating on highly focused documents that cover specialised niche markets. Auction catalogues are also worth collecting, particularly when it is a single designers oeuvre. These will become documents for the future that are bibles for the enthusiast. Indeed, for these single designer sales I would advise buying at least 10 copies, and just sitting on them until the market has forgotten all about the sale, that is when you can offer them. Recent sales catalogues could include the Damien Hurst Sale Sotheby’s 2008 (controversial!), specialist collections such as William Morris or Christopher Dresser, a specialist walking stick sale, or scientific instruments from a particular maker.

Ironically with all the information in this age, the desirability of these specialist books has never been greater. They are working documents that will enhance your collection and your appreciation of it. I would advise you if you have not already, to buy that expensive book, I truly believe that you will not regret it.

Take a look at our latest collection on eBay

Currently we have a superb collection of items running one ebay. Please take a look, all the items are very well chosen and all prices are negotiable!

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/merchant/id-home

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/merchant/id-home

Buying Antiques From Dealers – Online!

The internet has completely transformed the way people buy and sell, for the first time everyone has the most powerful research tool at their fingertips. But selling on line can by no means replace the face to face interaction of a dealers shop.

The tragedy is that although a website may get a lot of traffic only a tiny percentage of the traffic will stop with any intention of buying. A lot of this is the reluctance to contact the dealer.

Buying online should be an effective way of dealing in objects without putting the buyer under any pressure; the buyer has plenty of time and opportunity to research and make a educated decision. But perhaps that is it, there is no pressure or interaction.

Online dealers need to have a respectable online presence that carries the correct message, that the dealer can be trusted and his products can be relied upon for being interesting, rare, and of a desirable quality. I believe that the items I have presented here are well chosen; they are not items that you will see again and are certainly not pieces that you can just walk to the local shop and buy. Unique special objects demand respect and admiration. I challenge you to not feel so reluctant about spending money, a beautiful object will ultimately give you a lot more long term pleasure than a few weeks grocery shopping, or a weekend break.

What do you think?