ACC Annual Furniture Index Published

Is the decline in prices for brown furniture coming to an end?  The Antiques Trade Gazette reports on the Annual Furniture Index (UK based) published by the Antiques Collector Club declined in total only by 2%.  Take that news along with some of the positive furniture sales at the recent Americana sales in New York last week and perhaps we have hit bottom for brown furniture and possibly some stabilization in the various furniture markets.  Not all categories in the index showed small declines, the Early Victorian sector fell by 8%, and the Victorian and Edwardian Index fell by 11%.

For more positive news early mahogany saw a gain of 1% and walnut was up by 5% (after falling by 7% in 2010).  The article also noted there is anecdotal evidence from auction house floors that there does appear to be a little more interest in antique furniture than in the past few years, but it is far too early to consider it a trend.

In any event, the news for brown furniture is better than it has been in the past.

The ATG reports

Five of the seven constituent indices of the AFI registered falls in 2011. The categories most associated with the decline in formal dining, Late Mahogany (-3%) and Regency (-3%), show few signs of returning to form, while falling demand for dressers and a lack of good examples meant Oak (-2%) and Country (-4%) again showed the new-found vulnerability that marked them among the biggest losers in 2010.

Across 43 years, oak and country have been the strongest of all categories, but post-1770 mahogany furniture now carries the lowest of all index figures at 1803.

The Early Mahogany category saw a small gain (+1%) and Walnut, which fell 7% in 2010, was up by 5% in 2011, something Mr Andrews attributed to a very limited supply.
"There was a shortage of quality in the auction rooms, where routine antique furniture continued to be in poor demand," he said.

Early Victorian pieces were again the biggest loser at -8%.

Only items that were well above average in terms of design and quality, or those with an attractive provenance, maintained their values.

The separate Victorian & Edwardian Index, started in 1973 and once the recipient of spectacular gains, continues to nosedive, dropping a further 11%, mirroring double-digit falls in recent years. While some forms remain strong, such as the upholstered tub chairs popular with interior decorators, other standard late 19th and early 20th century pieces, such as the davenport, the work table and the credenza still languish among the unfashionable.

The Victorian & Edwardian Index, which stood at 2031 in 2003, has lost more than half of its value during the tailspin of the past decade. It now stands at 871, below the index figure it held in 1988.

Source: Antiques Trade Gazette