Island Life Magazine Ltd February/March 2012 | Page 74
ANTIQUES
ANTIQUES & COLLECTABLES
with Philip Hoare F.T.V.I
What's in
a name?
The year 2011 can firmly be consigned
to the history books. Although 2011
was pretty dire for many and certainly
for the world economy as a whole the
Art Market stood up extremely well as
international investors bought heavily
and prices at the top end
of the market in every
field rose in value
significantly.
The major
auction houses
have again
had a bumper
year with their
profit margins
significantly
higher. Anything
with celebrity provenance
has been selling for many times more
than a comparable piece without
the mystique. The disposal sale of
Elizabeth Taylor's collection by
Christies in New York illustrates
this perfectly. The sale totalled $10
million plus which was over 3 times
the pre-sale estimates, the figures for
which were set at higher figures than
usual anyway because of the movie
star connection. There is absolutely
no doubt that if an item is rare,
of exceptional quality or
just has an impeccable
provenance, auction in
London, New York or
Paris is the only way to
sell. The increased value
will more than cover
the not insignificant
auction commissions.
On fine items the major
auction houses will always
negotiate their terms and in some
cases waiving the vendor commission
completely.
Precious metals especially gold
has continued to rise although its
travelling companion silver lost some
of its value earlier in the year but is
gradually creeping up again. One
should always bear in mind what goes
up must inevitably at some point come
down.
Has gold peaked? I don't think so
and it will continue to rise. I hope
this year Antique Furniture has a
renaissance. An average Georgian
Pembroke Table now costs less than
fire wood. Rather than buy a flat pack
chest made in China, for the same
price you can buy a Victorian chest of
drawers.
Images supplied from © Christie's Images Limited 2012
Antiques - find out what
they're really worth
VALUATIONS • COMMISSION SALES • RESEARCH
74
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PHILIP HOARE
71 Union Street, Ryde, IW. PO33 2LN
TEL: 01983 612872 MOBILE: 07773 877242
EMAIL: [email protected]
www.philiphoare.com