FEATURES ARCHIVE

Why furniture?
My mother was very interested in French furniture, and often dragged me to the old manors of the English countryside as a child. I do recall a specific Edwardian château, the Waddesdon Manor, a classic Rothschild house with magnificent Victorian gardens that we visited on numerous occasions. Surrounded by all of those historical treasures on a frequent basis, that was where the germination for my love of decorative arts began.

You are originally from England. How did your career path lead you to New York?
I studied art history at Cambridge, and from there I knew I wanted an art-related career, either in the gallery or museum world. I viewed auction houses as a unique combination of commerce and art. I cast my net incredibly wide, and found a job with Phillips at their branch in Leeds. I started as a warehouse porter, soon developed an interest in Oriental carpets, and eventually parlayed that into a job at Christie’s furniture department in South Kensington. When an opportunity arose to work in the New York office, I jumped at the opportunity to live and work abroad.

Can you talk through your process for examining and assessing a work of furniture?
The first thing I look at, and it’s fairly instinctive, is the proportion and the color of a piece of furniture. Both can tell you a lot about a work’s history, and help to differentiate between an authentic 18th century example and a later imitation where classic proportions are often misinterpreted. From there, I close in on the details of the piece, the underside, the construction, the drawers. I also look for the evenness of oxidation patterns, to see if they are consistent with natural processes of aging over hundreds of years. This can be the hardest thing to fake in modern imitations.

Furniture has so many elements – the aesthetic qualities, the craftsmanship, but also the ergonomic side. Can you describe a piece or type of furniture that works with the human form?
The Louis XV bergère is a classic example of a piece that seems made with the human form in mind. It is an armchair with fully upholstered sides and back, and the best of them are curvy, sensuous and unbelievably comfortable.

Who is your furniture “idol” – a designer or maker whose creations you particularly adore?
That’s a challenging question! Can I choose two? In English furniture, I love William Kent’s ability to mix a sense of Italianate theater with sculptural, architectural qualities that really reflect the idea of “English solidity.” In French furniture, Andre-Charles Boulle is a favorite of mine. He was Louis XIV’s cabinetmaker and his work is an unbelievable synthesis of sculpture, surface and the grandeur of design.

If you could make your own “wish list” for the most coveted works in your April auctions, what would that list include?
There are two pieces that I’ve grown to love from the collection of Professor and Mrs. Clifford Ambrose Truesdell, the legendary Baltimore collector and academician. The first is a pair of Rococo Italian torchères (standing floor lamps) which appear to defy gravity – you literally look at them and can’t seem to make sense of how they stand on their own! They will be offered in our European Furniture sale on April 16. The second is a pair of armchairs by John Linnell that represent the quintessence of English 18th century elegance, and you can find them in our April 7 auction of Important English Furniture.

Can you think of an upcoming work which qualifies as a “classic” – one that transcends the fleeting nature of trend – but rather is timeless, beautiful, and could work in any home?
We have a marvelous Chippendale table that straddles the English and Continental styles, and I think would nicely suit today’s modern interiors. The top is made in the colorful baroque style of scagliola, which is an imitation hardstone popularized by the Italians. The Neoclassical base is very balanced and could easily complement a modern piece.

What is your proudest professional achievement?
Working in an auction house, one builds a great memory bank of fond experiences. I recall an afternoon many years ago when I received a phone call from a man living on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. He asked if I would be interested in a box made by Pietro Piffetti. I almost dropped the phone— if this were authentic, it would be an incredible rarity from someone I regard as the ultimate Rococo maker from the 18th Century whose work was almost exclusively made for the royal court in Turin. The jewel box did turn out to be an original—it was truly extraordinary—and ended up selling at Christie’s New York for almost $300,000. The client attended the sale in person and was thrilled with the results. It was one of those great auction house moments where everything just magically fell into place.

Some of the works we offer date as far back as the early 17th century. Should new furniture collectors expect to actually “use” these kinds of pieces, or are they best used as interior adornment?
Absolutely – what we sell is meant to be used, and the fact that they have survived so well reflects on their quality as well as their usefulness. A great majority of our buyers are looking for chairs they can sit in, drawers they can put socks in, a bureau plat (writing table) to work at, or mirrors to illuminate a room. These pieces were made to be used centuries ago and they are made to be used now.