If you have never been to an antique auction house, you’re in for a treat! Essentially you can find all manner of items, from cheap and cheerful couches to the most elaborate and exquisite designed pieces that would not look out of place in a museum. Antique dealers usually have some of these great items, but you tend to pay a lot more than if you buy through an auction house (which is why many of them procure their goods from an auction!). If you stick to your budget you really can’t go wrong, as most antique items found at auction have been made to last, which is why they’re still around today!
In this article we’re going to highlight some of the items that are commonly found in auction rooms, not only in Australia, but also around the world.
Paintings
These are probably the most synonymous items associated with an Auction house, with famous paintings from artists such as Van Gogh, Picasso, and Pro Hart making news headlines for record sale prices. While items from these artists don’t actually come up for sale often, when they do they usually fetch amazing prices. There’s also plenty of other artists paintings that come up, some known better than others, but if you like it this can be a great way of finding a beautiful decorative piece to cover your wall.
Rugs
Depending on the age of your house, the colours in your interior and the furniture you own, a nice rug can be the perfect adornment. With both machine-made and hand-made rugs available you just need to find the design that suits you best.
Porcelain
This might conjure memories of specialty bits that you remember adorning at your grandparents’ houses, but there’s so much more you can find made out of porcelain. From vases, to lamps, as well as pieces of art, and plates, bowls, serving trays, and sunken treasure! Items can be European, Asian or even Australian, for example, and each country of origin or region has its own distinctive style. Some well-known examples include Royal Worcester, Wedgwood, and Spode to name a few.
Glass
Other than for holding wine, glass be used to create a large number of amazing looking items.
Makers such as Murano, Bormioli, and Lalique make a variety of lamps, vases, statues, and more, as well as your traditional, stemware, drinkware and decanters.
Silver
Silver is obviously a precious metal, and is often used to either adorn items, giving them a more exclusive and luxurious appearance, or alternatively used to create items themselves. Often the key word to distinguish between these is whether an item is “plate”, “sterling” or sometimes “solid”. Most modern silver will be stamped with “925” indicating it is constructed of 92.5% silver which is the percentage for sterling silver. This amount of silver to other materials can vary, which is why people who collect silver check the stamped hallmarks carefully. These markings can also determine where something was made, by whom, and when. Silver is often used to make complete cutlery sets, but also trays, trophies, plates, cups bowls and of course jewellery, to name but a few.
Furniture
You honestly can’t go past good quality furniture at an auction house. Some of the fine quality items you can find include tables, chairs, desks, beds, wardrobes, sideboards and much more. The best thing about antique furniture is that it’s made from real wood, unlike many of the cheap flat pack items you would find in Ikea. The best bit is that many items found at auction can be cheaper than buying them new, as well as perform better and last much longer. Plus you’re saving items from going into landfill, and doing your bit for the environment!
For a look at some of our latest items up for offer at Auction, please see our auctions page.