Register or Log-in to view condition report Illums Bolighus, CopenhagenAcquired directly from the above by the present owner, circa 1965 Interior Decorator Alex Papachristidis on the Perfect Mix Monuments to a Towering Legacy: Biondi-Santi Family Collection Riservas Henry Moore: Figure, Form & Family Jill Kargman and Will Kopelman Talk Contemporary Art When Fashion Meets Technology: Will.I.Am Talks to Jose Neves Taking Flight: Max Ernst Birds on the WireThe chairs are designed by Georg Jensen. The table and chairs all with surface scratches, dents, rubbing and scuffs consistent with age and use. The table top with some discoloration along the circumference and visible in the catalogue illustration, concentrated more on the table top than on the extensions. The silver inlays on both the table top and extensions are in very good condition with some surface scratches. The table top’s skirt with some small cracks and chips near the joins and with scattered traces of white house paint.
The legs of the table with dents and scratches concentrated around the feet with some traces of white house paint. The chairs with scratches, dents and rubbing concentrated on the legs and feet, surface dirt and traces of white house paint consistent with age and use. Chairs with some slight separation to the wooden seams of the legs with associated chips and losses; three chairs with evidence of re-gluing to the wood seams. The leather is in very good condition. A nice group and opportunity to acquire a sought-after design by Finn Juhl together with a set of nine chairs by Georg Jensen. In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE. Please Login or Register to Watch Live Interested in bidding online for this sale? click here to register for BIDnow. Already have an account? Watch live auctions, manage your account, sign up for updates, share your favourites, create wishlists and more. Would you like to watch the live sale only or also participate in bidding? Online Registration to Bid is Closed for this Sale. Would you like to watch the live sale? Header Copy Goes HereSub-text goes hereWhen a 1949 Chieftain armchair by Danish designer Finn Juhl sold last fall for $780,000 at auction, mid-century furniture dealers yawned. Mid-century modern, a functional, clean-lined movement in furniture spanning the two decades after the Second World War, has rocketed in value over the past 10 years – in line with top salaries, real estate and design savvy.
Chairs, the items for which many mid-century designers flexed their most creative muscle, are the “iconic” items of the era. And they’ve become apt market barometers. As demand grows from middle America to the Middle East, stock is disappearing, and dealers who might have charged $1,000 10 years ago for a Soft-Pad chair by Charles and Ray Eames today charge twice that. Greg James, a buyer for the Fabulous Find in Victoria, reckons prices have risen “30 per cent across the board over the past five years.” Less ubiquitous chairs from voguish names such as Poul Kjaerholm, a Danish minimalist, have appreciated even more. “A decade ago, I’d sell Kjaerholm’s PK22 chairs for £700 [$1,293]. Now it’s more like £2,500 [$4,617],” says Rob McClymont of the Modern Warehouse in London. “What used to be ‘second-hand’ is now ‘modern antique.’”Fans of the look see it as functional art or fine, collectible design. “When you buy original mid-century modern, your money is not gone,” says Lawrence Blairs, owner of Atomic Design in Toronto.
“It’s merely locked away.”If you want to get in on the ground floor, follow the rules of the pros.“Always buy what you like and not what you think will be a good investment,” says Petra Curtis, co-founder of the Midcentury Modern Marketplace directory. “You have to connect with the piece in some way,” says Blairs. “Maybe it reminds you of your grandparents’ house or the colours in a painting. Even if you have limited knowledge of the designer, it’s ultimately how it makes you feel that’s important.”If it’s Eames, you’ll be in the majority, but you’ll also need to keep on the lookout for knock-offs, which have become prevalent in recent years and led to prices levelling off.“Teak chairs can’t be copied officially,” says James, meaning their value will hold. James recommends lesser-known designers, such as Peter Hvidt of the Danish studio Hvidt & Mølgaard. “Everything he did was solid teak and finger jointed – awesome stuff.”You get what you pay for with a knock-off: inferior quality and dubious materials.
“You’d be lucky to sell it for $50 the next day,” says James, “and it’ll eventually end up as landfill.”Reissued classics by manufacturers such as Fritz Hansen and Vitra are handy if you’re after, say, six identical Hans Wegner Wishbone chairs for your dining room, at $1,000 a pop. But take heed: “Once they leave the showroom, they’ll lose 30 per cent of their value, like a car,” says McClymont.A mint-condition vintage Wishbone, by contrast, might cost $500 and will appreciate. “The only time I’d advise someone to buy new is when the piece is rare, like Juhl’s NV45 chairs, which you don’t find any more. You could wait years for a pair, and when they go to auction, they sell for ridiculous money.”The Internet is invaluable for shopping, but if you’re serious about buying, use it as a means to an end. Many online portals are staffed at best by rookies, who don’t know an Arne Jacobsen from the generic, and at worst by cowboys. The veteran portal 1st Dibs is an exception: trustworthy, albeit expensive.
It monitors potential merchants for years before allowing them to sell through the site, “so you know you’re going to get quality,” says Israel Jones, owner of the Swanky Abode in Ohio.Enthusiasts should frequent vintage-furniture fairs and storefront dealers. “Build a rapport,” Curtis says. “Dealers love to talk the nuts and bolts off a piece. You won’t get the same ground knowledge from a sales assistant.” Suss out the dealers in your area. Old hands get great deals down the line, from sourcing to restoration – and that translates into competitive pricing. (Just to make sure, search online for price comparisons.)Crucially, well-known dealers get right of first refusal when locals sell off their contents. “People in their 80s walk into the shop with pictures and ask, ‘Do you want this stuff?’” says James. “And that’s the best stuff, because if they’re between 80 and 90, they bought it in the fifties and early sixties.”It goes both ways. If you can get on the waiting lists of your favourite dealers, they’ll come to you with the best merch.
“A quarter of the stuff we sell you don’t even see on our website, because it goes to the top of the wish list,” says James.Once you’ve zeroed in on a find, sit on it. Assess if the shock mounts are firmly attached. Check for corner brackets, used by amateurs to repair broken teak – they’ll drag down the value. Take into account whether the whole chair is original or a marriage of disparate parts. Then Google the name for marks of authenticity. For example, Eames DSW chairs were made of Fiberglas while reissues are inferior plastic. Early models manufactured by Zenith have a checkerboard label on the underside; models by Cincinatti Milacron have a crescent “C”; Summits Plastic models have a trademark as well.Danish teak of the early postwar period has a more interesting grain than the farmed teak of later stock. “And if it’s upholstered,” says Israel Jones, “research whether the upholstery is genuine or a replacement.”Spot an opportunity to saveDealers don’t tend to have sales – unless they want a big turnout at a furniture fair.