Antique and Vintage Furniture

Not all that long ago, when someone mentioned the word "antiques," the first objects that probably came to mind were vintage tables, chairs, dressers, sofas, secretaries, and cabinets, usually stained or painted in a dark shade of brown. Today, this so-called brown furniture has suffered in the marketplace, as people from all walks of life have replaced their heavy and hulking 19th-century Victorian furniture with sleek, minimalist pieces that are collectively known as Mid-Century Modern. Why navigate the vocabulary of Regency, Queen Anne, Federal, Colonial Revival, Gothic Revival, Rococo Revival, Renaissance Revival, and Eastlake when an inexpensive and ultimately disposable product from IKEA will do just fine? To be sure, commodity furniture has its place, but nothing can replace the rough-hewn charms of a piece of primitive furniture, the florid flourishes of a French loveseat, the sturdy resolve of a Mission-style end table from the Arts and Crafts era, the elegance of a waterfall dresser from the Art Deco period, or the space-age look of a molded chair designed by Charles and Ray Eames. The precursor to IKEA was Danish Modern, particular the work of designers Arne Jacobsen and Hans Wegner, whose 1949 Round chairs were the co-stars of a presidential debate between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy in 1960. That exposure to a television audience made The Chair, as it came to be called, the epitome of high style, paving the way for the popularization of Mid-Century Modern throughout the remainder of the 1960s. By the 1970s, though, the aesthetic was foundering, and it was not uncommon to find Herman Miller recliners designed by the Eameses discarded in alleys or tossed into dumpsters. Today, many of these same pieces can bring five figures. For many, furniture has an even broader meaning, encompassing lamps and other furnishings such as trunks, baskets, boxes, mirrors, and even bird cages. While many of these pieces are made new to look old, authentic vintage and antique decorative objects can still be found. Also popular are examples of Asian furniture, from a lacquerware or "japanned" cupboard to a low, all-wood tansu.