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 www.visitislandlife.com PHILIP HOARE 71 Union Street, Ryde, IW. PO33 2LN TEL: [phone] MOBILE: [phone] EMAIL: [email protected] www.philiphoare.com