Antiques.

decky1 · 18-07-2019 10:34pm #1

Does anyone watch those 'Antique shows on the tele eg, those guys going around England buying stuff in different towns, just wondering why are antiques so popular in England, with so many shops in each town and why not here?

McDermotX · 18-07-2019 10:35pm

No.

One eyed Jack · 18-07-2019 10:38pm

decky1 wrote: »

Does anyone watch those 'Antique shows on the tele eg, those guys going around England buying stuff in different towns, just wondering why are antiques so popular in England, with so many shops in each town and why not here?

Bigger market for antiques and the variety of antiques in the UK is all. The market for antiques and the variety of antiques available here are tiny by comparison. That’s all it is really.

Harry Palmr · 18-07-2019 10:41pm

Britain is full of old stuff and even older people who have NOTHING else to do!

Also it's amazingly cheap TV which is why there's a lot of it on the stupid box.

hukn ezadra · 18-07-2019 10:43pm

I'd say every medium sized town in Ireland has an antique showroom, couldnt comment on the quality of the stuff though..

whisky_galore · 18-07-2019 11:02pm

Ireland hasn't got the quantity or quality of antiques, and people aren't well versed. See the pages upon pages of junk on the antiques section of Adverts for laughable prices.

People here think an upcycled piece of tat from the 1970s is an antique. Most of Irish "vintage" shop stock is overpriced crap fit for the skip.
Car boot sales here are mainly broken toys, crap clothes, cheap holiday souvenirs and stolen tools.
Folks here don't tend to spend much and when they do it's cheap and tasteless. Mate of mine runs an antique shop, his biggest seller are crappy cheap concrete garden ornaments. Awful things but they outsell the decent stuff.

kneemos · 18-07-2019 11:28pm

decky1 wrote: »

Does anyone watch those 'Antique shows on the tele eg, those guys going around England buying stuff in different towns, just wondering why are antiques so popular in England, with so many shops in each town and why not here?

Drew Pritchard? Love it.

kneemos · 18-07-2019 11:37pm

whisky_galore wrote: »

Ireland hasn't got the quantity or quality of antiques, and people aren't well versed. See the pages upon pages of junk on the antiques section of Adverts for laughable prices.

People here think an upcycled piece of tat from the 1970s is an antique. Most of Irish "vintage" shop stock is overpriced crap fit for the skip.
Car boot sales here are mainly broken toys, crap clothes, cheap holiday souvenirs and stolen tools.
Folks here don't tend to spend much and when they do it's cheap and tasteless. Mate of mine runs an antique shop, his biggest seller are crappy cheap concrete garden ornaments. Awful things but they outsell the decent stuff.

On the English show he buys a lot of what I and most people would call landfill. Old tables and metal cabinets that have been sitting in a shed for decades.

He's going for a look though,and to fit a decor style folk will pay a lot for the genuine article.

elperello · 18-07-2019 11:47pm

https://www.iada.ie/

IrIsh Antique Dealers Association.

There are more than you might expect.
A browse through their websites will point you in the right direction.
Bargains also turn up on Adverts, Done Deal or Facebook.

ILoveYourVibes · 18-07-2019 11:48pm

Old stuff in the UK reminds people of how great it was to be British in the empire days.

Old stuff here reminds Irish people of poverty.

JustAThought · 18-07-2019 11:55pm

Love that show and would almost plan my Sunday around getting to watch it - tv highlight of the week for donkeys years.

Re the UK I think because of the colonial past and noblity patronage and so much overseas travel and pillaging during the wars by the soldiers and common man they have a lot more interesting stuff and lots more range and scope for unusual and really valuable pieces to surface. Here the 17 and 18th century antiques are mostly big piece furnitire that everyone had from the same 'middle' class shops . Plus, as we didnt have the same kind ofaristocratic structure or wealth (a few lords and ladies and visiting landlords but nothing compared to the uk) there wasnt the outrageous purchases and effortless extremes and nonchalant forgotten extremes of purchasing that make the antique roadshow so interesting - inherited knicknacks such as fabarge eggs and 8 carrot tiaras and occasional smokey rembrants and pilfered ming vases etc We really are dull by comparison!

branie2 · 18-07-2019 11:58pm

I haven't.

whisky_galore · 19-07-2019 5:09am

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

Old stuff in the UK reminds people of how great it was to be British in the empire days.

Old stuff here reminds Irish people of poverty.

Good stuff went up in smoke when The Boys burnt down the local Big House.
The more humble furniture found in thatched cottages was burnt, thrown out and left to rot where it was as it was "poor people's" furniture.

selwyn froggitt · 19-07-2019 8:07am

I remember watching the Antiques Roadshow and a woman brought on a weaving machine which was used to make Victorian wigs.
She said it was a hair loom.

Mefistofelino · 19-07-2019 8:10am

Shopping for antiques is fine, but it might make you "buy curios".

TheValeyard · 19-07-2019 8:17am

I liked that bargain hunter show with all the antiques. Buy low and try sell high.

adocholiday · 19-07-2019 10:35am

I like a bit of antiquing myself. You can get serious value for money sometimes, far superior furniture to the rubbish in Harvey Norman and the like and often for far less. We got a gorgeous 10ft x 4ft dining table with 8 chairs, all solid wood and hand carved for €1000 from an antique dealer. Side tables and other small furniture, light fixtures, even a 4 poster bed for relative peanuts. The problem as has been mentioned is that Ireland is relatively sparse in terms of serious antique dealers so it can take a while to find something you really want.

Back on topic - Drew Pritchard's show is great, but his website's prices don't seem to reflect the prices he pays to the people on TV! His stuff is pretty expensive. It's great TV though, especially when they find a rarity sitting in some attic for 50 years or when he has a look around some old estate homes and they talk about some stuff that isn't for sale but the value of it is insane. One example comes to mind where a mirror on the wall of some estate house was worth £150,000. It's funny though if you go into an antique dealer and mention Drew Pritchard they'll blow a fuse they all hate him

Wibbs · 19-07-2019 12:51pm

adocholiday wrote: »

I like a bit of antiquing myself. You can get serious value for money sometimes, far superior furniture to the rubbish in Harvey Norman and the like and often for far less.

Exactly. And much more chance of whatever you get gaining in value if you pick well. Something that will never happen with the Harvey Norman tat made of the finest chinesium with added solvents and the like.

The problem as has been mentioned is that Ireland is relatively sparse in terms of serious antique dealers so it can take a while to find something you really want.

And as usual they seem to have inflated notions of value. I've seen edwardian era repro chests of drawers at near double the price of georgian originals in the UK.

Conall Cernach · 19-07-2019 2:24pm

You often see people on those shows selling off their grandmother's personal possessions for a pittance.

Presenter: "Here's your grandmother's jewellery that she was given to her by your grandfather when he went off to the trenches never to return. Now it's only costume jewelry so we can only expect it to fetch £50 at auction."

Granddaughter: "I'd like to sell it and go for a curry with my family."

ohnonotgmail · 19-07-2019 2:35pm

adocholiday wrote: »

I like a bit of antiquing myself. You can get serious value for money sometimes, far superior furniture to the rubbish in Harvey Norman and the like and often for far less. We got a gorgeous 10ft x 4ft dining table with 8 chairs, all solid wood and hand carved for €1000 from an antique dealer. Side tables and other small furniture, light fixtures, even a 4 poster bed for relative peanuts. The problem as has been mentioned is that Ireland is relatively sparse in terms of serious antique dealers so it can take a while to find something you really want.

Back on topic - Drew Pritchard's show is great, but his website's prices don't seem to reflect the prices he pays to the people on TV! His stuff is pretty expensive. It's great TV though, especially when they find a rarity sitting in some attic for 50 years or when he has a look around some old estate homes and they talk about some stuff that isn't for sale but the value of it is insane. One example comes to mind where a mirror on the wall of some estate house was worth £150,000. It's funny though if you go into an antique dealer and mention Drew Pritchard they'll blow a fuse they all hate him

probably because they dont want people to know what their markup is.

kowloon · 19-07-2019 3:16pm

Some of the antique dealers here go on buying trips to the UK as the market is so small here. Specialised auctions here aren't as common as in the UK.
I'm guessing the volume is too low here to put on specialised auctions with any regularity, so often the entire variety of stuff from a house will get auctioned off together in the same auction.

Utter Consternation · 19-07-2019 4:29pm

There's a guy in my home town who has an antique shop. Says he does all his trade online and kitting out pubs to order in a retro style.

Del.Monte · 19-07-2019 6:34pm

kowloon wrote: »

Some of the antique dealers here go on buying trips to the UK as the market is so small here. Specialised auctions here aren't as common as in the UK.
I'm guessing the volume is too low here to put on specialised auctions with any regularity, so often the entire variety of stuff from a house will get auctioned off together in the same auction.

There are a fair number of specialised sales here every year covering most interests but population is everything and consequently GB is the place to search for sales.

The ever increasing use of the internet by most Irish auction houses means that it's increasingly difficult to pick up bargains as the buying audience has mushroomed. House clearance sales have always been a feature of the Irish and UK auction scene.

Research is the key to successful buying at auction and if it's bargains you're after you need to intercept items before they enter the retail world - especially shops run by IADA members!

Lots of sales are listed here every month: https://collectireland.com/

kowloon · 20-07-2019 1:49am

Del.Monte wrote: »

There are a fair number of specialised sales here every year covering most interests but population is everything and consequently GB is the place to search for sales.

I used to live in the UK and there were so many more auctions, local fairs and antiques shops in general. I've rarely bought anything from an Irish auction but plenty of stuff from abroad.

JupiterKid · 20-07-2019 2:16am

Myself and my OH are fond of antiques - he likes Georgian era and Chesterfield, I tend to go for Art Deco and Art Nouveau styles.

The UK has a far bigger market for antiques and because it was much wealthier further back in time than Ireland, ergo there are many more antiques in terms of quantity and quality.

Ireland was a very poor country right up to the 1960s and still relatively poor in European terms until the 1990s and thus very few Irish people have heirlooms of any real value. Go back a couple of generations here and there is no money.

As we have really only became a more sophisticated society in the past 25 years with an education and appreciation of culture, art and aesthetics, and importantly have the means now to purchase, the demand for quality antiques has really only taken off here very recently. But we are catching up.

The most valuable item I own is my great grandfather’s writing bureau, crafted in circa 1887 and made out of walnut. I have yet to have it valued but I have no intention of ever selling it. It will stay in the family.

cbreeze · 20-07-2019 2:29am

My great grandmother used to drive around West Cork collecting bargains from house clearances and the like. It was junk a century ago and its still junk!

Del.Monte · 20-07-2019 7:05am

cbreeze wrote: »

My great grandmother used to drive around West Cork collecting bargains from house clearances and the like. It was junk a century ago and its still junk!

I doubt that, unless she had a very bad eye for a bargain. There's a demand for most things these days and never easier to sell or find information about items. When I started collecting, back in the 1970s, I remember searching for specific things such as books and it could take years before you would find what you were looking for - these days Google is your friend.

decky1 · 20-07-2019 10:50am

adocholiday wrote: »

I like a bit of antiquing myself. You can get serious value for money sometimes, far superior furniture to the rubbish in Harvey Norman and the like and often for far less. We got a gorgeous 10ft x 4ft dining table with 8 chairs, all solid wood and hand carved for €1000 from an antique dealer. Side tables and other small furniture, light fixtures, even a 4 poster bed for relative peanuts. The problem as has been mentioned is that Ireland is relatively sparse in terms of serious antique dealers so it can take a while to find something you really want.

Back on topic - Drew Pritchard's show is great, but his website's prices don't seem to reflect the prices he pays to the people on TV! His stuff is pretty expensive. It's great TV though, especially when they find a rarity sitting in some attic for 50 years or when he has a look around some old estate homes and they talk about some stuff that isn't for sale but the value of it is insane. One example comes to mind where a mirror on the wall of some estate house was worth £150,000. It's funny though if you go into an antique dealer and mention Drew Pritchard they'll blow a fuse they all hate him

bit cheeky with the prices he pays turns my stomach but i still watch him from time to time.

Tommyturf · 11-01-2020 7:44pm

My wife and I are currently planning on heading across the water with a rented van to purchase some antiques for our house. Any experts got areas or specific auction recommendations we could hit over there? Thanks all

Ubbquittious · 11-01-2020 7:57pm

Tommyturf wrote: »

My wife and I are currently planning on heading across the water with a rented van to purchase some antiques for our house. Any experts got areas or specific auction recommendations we could hit over there? Thanks all

Bermondsey market (bitteen overpriced), there are some nice little shoppeens in Westerham and Godstone. Car boot sales can be good, there used to be a mahoosive one very close to Gatwick airport which can be hit or miss as you might only get obsolete electronics and children's toys but the worst thing about it is you need a fooking Veyron to come out of it and merge with the speeding motorway traffic not a fully laden van with the flaps scraping the road

Tommyturf · 11-01-2020 8:31pm

Ubbquittious wrote: »

Bermondsey market (bitteen overpriced), there are some nice little shoppeens in Westerham and Godstone. Car boot sales can be good, there used to be a mahoosive one very close to Gatwick airport which can be hit or miss as you might only get obsolete electronics and children's toys but the worst thing about it is you need a fooking Veyron to come out of it and merge with the speeding motorway traffic not a fully laden van with the flaps scraping the road

Thanks Ubbquittious much appreciated...all other opinions/advice welcome

Mena Mitty · 11-01-2020 9:32pm

Tommyturf wrote: »

My wife and I are currently planning on heading across the water with a rented van to purchase some antiques for our house. Any experts got areas or specific auction recommendations we could hit over there? Thanks all

Most of the weekly and fortnightly auction catalogues for Auction houses north and south of the border are available to view online a few days prior to Auction. Most are 400 to 600 lots of everything and anything which you can view from the comfort of your own home.

11-01-2020 9:54pm

Industrial revolution bypassed Ireland 🇮🇪

Cody montana · 11-01-2020 10:08pm

I’m a collector and I love antiques and antique shows.
It’s kind of an addiction.

skooterblue2 · 11-01-2020 10:27pm

kneemos wrote: »

Drew Pritchard? Love it.

What about Combat Dealers? You gotta love all that SS/Gestapo stuff.

LirW · 11-01-2020 10:31pm

My dad is a serious antique addict. He has a good eye for it, great connections and is willing to spend serious money.
It happened a few times that he just bought it because he liked it but didn't had the space. So I now have some nice rugs and a pretty cool 120 year old Art deco desk lamp.

Vienna is an antique goldmine, some seriously good stuff there.

rainbowtrout · 11-01-2020 10:48pm

JustAThought wrote: »

Re the UK I think because of the colonial past and noblity patronage and so much overseas travel and pillaging during the wars by the soldiers and common man they have a lot more interesting stuff and lots more range and scope for unusual and really valuable pieces to surface. Here the 17 and 18th century antiques are mostly big piece furnitire that everyone had from the same 'middle' class shops . Plus, as we didnt have the same kind ofaristocratic structure or wealth (a few lords and ladies and visiting landlords but nothing compared to the uk) there wasnt the outrageous purchases and effortless extremes and nonchalant forgotten extremes of purchasing that make the antique roadshow so interesting - inherited knicknacks such as fabarge eggs and 8 carrot tiaras and occasional smokey rembrants and pilfered ming vases etc We really are dull by comparison!

A little unfair to run down Irish people unnecessarily. 90% of land in Ireland was under the ownership and control of landlords in 1860. So if the majority of the population were tenants - consider the direct effect of the famine on families living on small parcels of land - it doesn't lend itself to building up wealth or possessions, or to a large number of items being bought, owned, inherited and lasting long enough to become antiques.

Population continued to decline until it bottomed out around 1960. We've been through recessions since then and seen high levels of emigration in the 1980s. Noticeable changes in standards of living have only come about in the last two generations or so. That's not conducive to the availability of a large number of high quality antiques.

Tommyturf · 13-01-2020 12:37pm

Any other ideas for our UK antique trip folks? thanks

elperello · 13-01-2020 6:57pm

https://www.manchester-antique.co.uk/

This place has quite a big stock.
I have been there but never bought anything.
There are quite a few dealers in Manchester and it's only two hours from Holyhead.

asgaard · 14-01-2020 6:11pm

If u lucky you might get some antiques on local markets (Saturday/Sunday), but it might change after 18th of January. Many antiques comes from UK on local market, but Brexit might change it.

Fr_Dougal · 14-01-2020 6:13pm

Tommyturf wrote: »

Any other ideas for our UK antique trip folks? thanks

There’s AntiquesRUs, they’re quite good.

Widdershins · 14-01-2020 6:14pm

kneemos wrote: »

On the English show he buys a lot of what I and most people would call landfill. Old tables and metal cabinets that have been sitting in a shed for decades.

He's going for a look though,and to fit a decor style folk will pay a lot for the genuine article.

It's the "patina".

Tommyturf · 15-01-2020 9:05am

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

There’s AntiquesRUs, they’re quite good.

I googled this place nothing came up about it? cheers

Antiques.

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