Furniture

Antique furniture suffers from a change in taste: contemporary interiors leave less room for large classical pieces. Prices of "period-style" furniture have fallen, while signed pieces, pieces of form and 20th-century furniture hold up.

The segment is also more exposed to restorations and composite pieces. An "arranged" piece of furniture has often been reconstituted from elements of different origins, which alters its value. The conservation report is a particularly useful tool here.

Finally, objets d'art derive their value from rarity, quality of execution and condition. Silverware, subject to hallmarks, benefits from a documentary traceability that other objects lack.

Furniture offers opportunities to those who know how to look. Period furniture of ordinary quality sells at prices below those of comparable new furniture, even though its manufacture is incomparably better. Informed buyers find durable pieces there, often undervalued.

The key is to inform yourself: read the description, ask for photographs of all sides, check restorations, find out about provenance. An auction house approved by OIMAP must be able to answer all these questions before the sale.