FEATURES ARCHIVE

How did you become interested in Furniture and Works of Art?
I had a fine art degree under my belt from a North East of England Art School, and was a struggling artist working in London in the early 1980s. I needed a job to supplement my non-existent income, so my long suffering girlfriend (now wife) suggested that I should apply to Christie's because it was vaguely arty! I wrote a letter, got an interview, they offered me a job as a porter, I became totally obsessed and fascinated, never picked up a brush again, the rest is history - no regrets.

If you could only have one piece of furniture or object, what would it be and why?
That’s an extremely difficult question; I've been privileged to examine so many amazing objects in this job over the past 23 years. I adore early wooden objects (treen) and have an extremely humble collection at home. I guess if I had to choose one object, it would be a large Celtic iron bound bowl that I had the pleasure of examining about ten years ago, dug out of a peat bog, that’s now housed in the National Museum of Ireland's Collection in Dublin.

Where in the world has being a Furniture and Works of Art specialist taken you?
I've been hugely fortunate to travel widely across Europe and North America for my job. I was fortunate recently to visit South Africa for the first time, where I met the hugely talented sculptor Dylan Lewis in Cape Town. It made a particular mark on me because in my area I never normally get to meet the artist whose work you are selling - they are usually long gone! I helped put together a sale of Dylan's animalier sculptures, the proceeds from which he generously donated a large percentage to the World Wildlife Fund.

How would you define the Interiors category?
It is an exciting and eclectic offering of a wide range of decorative arts, which includes carpets, textiles, furniture, sculpture, lighting, silver, porcelain and works of art both European and Asian, as well as British and Continental pictures, garden ornaments - the list is nearly endless.

What these weekly sales will provide for clients new and old is a wonderful mix which will inspire the home decorator, as well as the seasoned aficionados and collectors.

What is so unique about the Interiors sales at South Kensington?
There isn't another saleroom in the world that comes anywhere near to our frequency and quality of sales at South Kensington. We will offer thirty-two Interiors sales next year, each containing around 500 mixed category lots. That’s nearly one a week. This regularity will offer clients, new and old, a unique, exciting, affordable and reliable retail alternative. The sales will be displayed in our new state-of-the-art galleries where we show the furniture and objects in room settings, helping clients to visualise how any given piece might look in their home or collection.

What would you say are the key pieces and what time period do they cover?
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but uniqueness, quality, functionality are key. William Morris said “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful” I think that was pretty sound advice. The sales cover a very broad timeframe, the earliest pieces in the sales might be found in our Interiors Oak Editions, with many 17th century or earlier examples of furniture and works of art. Whilst in other sales you might find items dating well into the 20th century, for example a beautiful handmade quilt, or recently we sold a wonderful sculpture of a horse modelled by a talented car mechanic, from engine parts.

What would you advise people to buy this year?
As I said earlier, there is something for all tastes in our sales. You should always try and buy items that are unique, and that are of the highest quality your budget can handle. Good value for money in the market at the moment, and definitely back on the up is period Georgian, and early Victorian mahogany furniture. These pieces are often of ageless neo-classical design, and sit really well in our modern interiors. Beautifully crafted, pound for pound, they offer superb value. If you went to a good quality cabinet maker today and asked him to reproduce one of these articles you would find that the cost would probably exceed the auction hammer price tenfold. What’s more you have an object that will probably hold its value well.