The Personal Property Appraisers Post

While researching an unusual chair a client had purchased in London years ago (and told at a Roadshow filming, if attributed it could be worth in the mid five figures), I struck up a email "pen pal-ship" with a knowledgeable English dealer/scholar, Paul Shutler. Paul specializes in high end furniture and decorative arts, primarily 19th and 20th century UK. With his permission, I'm reprinting below an excellent, succinct explanation of "rarity," a recent entry on his new blog. Good reminder of the meaning of the word and ranking furniture and decorative arts as we appraise value.

JUST HOW RARE IS RARE

Often my clients come to me for advice when considering purchasing an item from another dealer or at auction. In some cases, they are interested in objects described by the seller as 'rare' or 'extremely rare and highly important.'

So, I decided to include my repeated response in the blog:

Ask the seller why they think the object is rare. In most cases I can explain instantly why something may or may not be rare. Certainly if I was describing something as rare, I would make sure I could do this.

It's worth remembering that if something is rare, it may be simply because the maker decided not to continue making an object because it just wasn't very pleasing, meaning not all rare objects are good objects.

Something might be considered rare because a fixed number of them are known to have been made, but how high can this number go? It is a known fact that Gerald Summers made only 120 one-piece chairs of circa 1933-4. Does this make them rare? It could be considered important given that it's a great example of a chair successfully made using only a single sheet of plywood, no fixings or joints, an industrial designer's dream. (Image from the Vitra Design Museum's book, 100 Masterpieces from the Vitra Museum Collection.)

Questions also need to be asked when dealing with the description important. Being rare doesn't automatically make something important. For a work of art or an antique to be described as important, shouldn't it mean it hah a part to play or was responsible for something of note? A useful example would be Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo's famous mahogany side chairs circa 1882. (One example is in the collections of The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts as well as the V and A museum.) They are universally considered to be important because their sinuous Art Nouveau design pre-dates the Art Nouveau period by a decade.

To be of use, the word important should be followed by the word because. Often these words are used to illustrate and highlight the object's significance but sadly they can also be used to embellish an otherwise ordinary (but perfectly genuine) object.

I have recently been fortunate enough to acquire an occasional table (see my current stock page) that I consider to be worthy of this seemingly disposable four letter word for these reasons:

Firstly, the table was designed by Owen Jones, a man known to only design furniture on a commission basis.

Secondly, this particular commission was for the copper mining magnate James Mason Esq. of Eynsham Hall, Oxfordshire. Helpfully the drawings for this commission survive; they clearly display all the furniture and decoration to be included in each room. Amongst the sets of chairs and tables in the drawing room there is just one occasional table. Meaning only one occasional table was ever made.

This is not merely rare but unique.

Paul Shutler
pashutler.org.uk

P.S. Paul's research fee is extremely reasonable with Paypal. And my client's chair was unfortunately not worth anywhere near what was surmised at the Roadshow. While it was perfectly genuine for the period and rarely seen, it was middle market of unknown origin designer-wise and not important as explained above.

Francine