Whats new at Richard Gardner Antiques

ANTIQUE WASHINGTON PATTERN IVORY CHESS SET Circa 1790
Height of king: 3½ inches / 8.9 cm
Board size: 10½ x 10½ inches / 26.6 x 26.6 cm
Stock number: RW0590/0119
Price: £950

A late 18th century Washington pattern ivory chess set, one side in natural ivory, the other stained red, together with a early 19th century wooden chess board.

A rare opportunity to acquire a good sized Georgian ivory playing set. These sets are highly sought after for their simplicity and history and the fact they were the chosen playing sets of the serious players of the time. The knights are the forerunners of the fine carved horse head knights of the 19th century and the rooks are some of the first in ordinary play to feature such detail. These sets were made for playing and turned on foot treadle lathes. Each piece was turned separately so there will be slight variations. Very much in the family of the “Washington” sets of the period. Of historical importance are the knights which were the last of the pre Lund pieces that paid much more detail to the quality of the horse head. The early Calvert sets were known for this type of knight. Many of the early sets coming to the market are of course bone so a good opportunity to add one of the better quality ivory sets to the collection.

Four replacement pieces (all contemporary to the set: red knight, red bishop, white knight and white bishop). There is slight loss to the castellation of the rooks but this is normal for these sets and top collectors tend to keep these rare sets in an “as found” condition.



ANTIQUE FOLDING CHESS & BACKGAMMON LEATHER BOOK Circa 1880
Height open: 1½ inches / 3.7 cm
Width open: 17 inches / 43.1 cm
Depth open: 15 inches / 38 cm
Stock number: RW0567/0119
Price: £2500

An English gilt-tooled red leather folding games board, in the form of an antiquarian book, the title stamped “Hist. of Russia”, the exterior for chess with red and black squares, the interior for backgammon with elaborate gilt-tooled decoration, with the points coloured in blue and white, the ends and front are marbled paper (with some losses), complete with the two original leather dice shakers. Overall in very good condition.



ANTIQUE FOLDING CHESS & BACKGAMMON BOARD BOX Circa 1827
Height open: 2 inches / 5.1 cm
Width open: 16¾ inches / 42.5 cm
Depth open: 13¼ inches / 33.6 cm
Stock number: RW0548/0119
Price: £1200

An early 19th century rosewood folding chess and backgammon board box, with the chessboard squares in ivory and ebony, with either end of the board with spaces to keep captured pieces, the box opens to reveal an interior with a backgammon board with the points and decoration in ivory and kingwood, the panels decorated with miniature chess boards, on one of the ivory chess squares it has the initials and date EMS 1827 and as this would tie in with the date of the box, these are probably the initials of the original owner. There are some cracks and curling of the chess squares, but nothing to stop you enjoying playing a game with it.

Four replacement pieces (all contemporary to the set: red knight, red bishop, white knight and white bishop). There is slight loss to the castellation of the rooks but this is normal for these sets and top collectors tend to keep these rare sets in an “as found” condition

Richard Gardner Antiques, 4, Queen Street, Emsworth, Hampshire PO10 7BL - For more information visit >>> www.richardgardnerantiques.co.uk

Tags: Antiques, Richard Gardner Antiques, Chess

Now is the time to buy a Silver bargin…

Currently there is one segment of the huge $63.8billion international market in art and antiques that is seriously depressed and which is due an inevitable correction – antique silver.

So now is a good time to buy antique silver objects, candelabra, dinnerware, snuff boxes, any kind of beautiful ornamental silver. “It’s a bargain at current prices,” says Pontus Silfvertoolpe, co-founder of Barnebys.

One of the greatest merits of Barnebys massive art and antiques database is its ability to track the values of the commodities it covers – art, antiques, wine, cars – some dozens of specialist collectable items.

Barnebys is the worlds largest and fastest growing art and antique search engine and covers 1,600 auction houses internationally, from the best known names in the business – Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips - to the local auction house near you.

As a result the company is constantly being asked what is hot and what is not, what is up and what is down in art and auctions sales. If you want to invest in art and antiques what should one be looking at?

From being one of the safest investments, something that always found a ready market, antique silver today is many times cheaper than its smelting value as ingots of silver. In the past, one’s fortune was often counted in silver, one of the oldest precious metals known. For most people it was their silver spoons that were the future pension, and a pair of well-polished candelabra from any of the great masters could be exchanged for a whole building in central London. Silver was therefore the first thing that was hidden or buried when the enemy attacked. Sadly this is not the case anymore.

This has had a terrible effect on beautiful antique silverware, much of it is being melted down and turned into silver bullion instead of existing as lovely antique and well functioning coffee pots, napkin rings, elaborate bread baskets, candelabra or other ornamental objects which used to grace the tables of the rich and famous.

A fine Georgian coffee pot in the 1980's would have sold for £1,500; today you can pick them up for £800 to £1,000. This poses the question, has antique silver become worthless?

The answer is no! The situation is not absolutely hopeless. There is a light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to antique silver and silver’s existence as beautiful objects. The generally prevailing trend in the secondary market is that quality still counts, regardless of category, materials or age. And this is true of silver. The best of the best continues to hold its value.

What people are particularly looking for today is the unusual object with provenance. For example a magnificent highly decorated soup tureen once owned by the sister of Queen Marie Antoinette, estimated to sell for £100,000 to £200,000 in fact sold for a staggering £447,000 at Bonhams.

Items in silver that are still sought after include wine coolers and wine strainers. These reach high prices in the collector communities, a non-price-sensitive audience around the world which certainly knows how to use them. Decorative silver is enjoying a renaissance when it finds an educated market from the US to China and the Middle East – particularly pieces in the Art Nouveau style.

So for those who are not impatient and have the time to wait, prices will probably rise within a few years. And for lovers of antique silver the bonus is that it can hardly be cheaper than it is today. And while this trend will in all likelihood continue down a bit further, it will recover and deliver a good return on your investment.

It is now time for new generations to start using silver again, to understand and appreciate the value of quality and durability and the intrinsic beauty of this ancient and much valued precious metal.

Because most silver works are currently melted down for their scrap value, we will see a higher interest and much higher prices for those items that survive the current smelting madness. Supply and demand will as ever have a rectifying effect.

So Barnebys would advise you to join us online and see who is holding serious silver auctions. There are bargains to be had out there that are both stunningly beautiful works of art and also quite often very functional as dinner services or as decorative objects with intriguing histories. Given that silver prices will doubtless rise again its investment value is another reason to buy silver.

Find out more at www.barnebys.co.uk

Picture at top: Item sold for £447,000 at Bonhams.
THE SACHSEN-TESCHEN TUREEN, AN IMPORTANT LATE 18TH CENTURY AUSTRIAN SILVER SOUP TUREEN AND STAND, by Ignaz Josef Wurth Vienna 1781, stand and liner 1780, and early 19th century Austrian control marks. Provenance: Albert Casimir (1732-1822), 6th son of Elector Frederick August II of Saxony, created Duke of Teschen on his marriage in 1766 to Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria (1742-1798), 4th daughter of Emperor Franz I and Empress Maria Theresa and sister to Marie Antoinette.

Tags: Antiques, Barnebys, Silver, Bonhams, Georgian

At least 20% OFF everything

Since coming back from the Christmas holidays we have had some news that has made us think about how we run the showroom in the future. We have decided that we would like to downsize the business and to reduce our stock levels to a more manageable level.

To help us achieve this, we have decided to have a SALE with at least a 20% discount on all the ticket prices shown on the site and in the showroom.

There will be some items with an even larger discount and these will be seen when looking at the pieces on the website www.richardgardnerantiques.co.uk.

Tags: What's On, sale, Antiques, Richard Gardner