We specialise in providing valuations of antiques and fine art. This includes furniture, clocks and objects from the late medieval period up to the 20th century with particular expertise of 17th and 18th century antiques.
Concentrating on high value items, such as fine antique walnut furniture and Dutch marquetry longcase clocks made either in the late 1600s or early 1700s. We often find that most items of this type which are of great value are underinsured – either because their true value was unknown, or simply that they had not recently been valued. The rarity and demand for quality antique furnishings of this type means that prices have risen considerably over recent years.
Why value your Antiques and Fine Art?
Professional, up-to-date valuations of antiques and fine art are very important for a variety of reasons:
- To ensure you have adequate insurance cover. If you are underinsured, your insurer may dramatically scale back any pay-out or refuse to pay out at all.
- If you are acting as the executor of a will you may be required to obtain valuations for probate and inheritance tax purposes.
- Accurate valuations of antiques and fine art can also be required for tax-planning purposes.
- So you can realise the best prices for your antiques should you wish to sell them.
Malcolm Green Valuations will provide a reliable, honest, trustworthy and discrete service, backed by 40 years of experience. We do not act as dealers so can be guaranteed to provide you with the best independent advice.
Antiques Restoration Advice
Furthermore, we have 40 years of experience in the antiques restoration field, operating as Green and Cockburn antique restoration. This means that we can guide you if restoration may be advisable to maximise the valuations of antiques and fine art that you wish to offer for sale. Malcolm Green has been acknowledged as a “multitalented restorer” by the BBC, having appeared regularly on their Restoration Roadshow series, acting as a presenter, valuer and restorer.
Real-life cases
Here are some cases where we have been able to help in providing accurate valuations of antiques and fine art.
Starting with this stunning Dutch marquetry longcase clock which has a replacement value somewhere in the region of £120,000. The majority of these antique marquetry clocks that we see are undervalued.
As specialists in the restoration of these clocks, we are very well-placed to appraise their authenticity accurately. Changes do happen down the centuries, with the base often being repaired and the clock movement being altered. Such changes may have a significant impact on the value of these antique timepieces, which are likely to be around 300 years old now.
How to get the best price for your antique?
Making you aware of the true value of your item is only part of our service. We can also advise on the best auction or dealer to use, so you can then gain the maximum price for your item if you wish to sell it. Here are two examples, showing the great importance of having a realistic valuation before you consider parting with your items.
These are both works by the highly acclaimed art potter William de Morgan (1839-1917). Initially, this dish and charger had been valued at £3000 each by another party.
We were contacted by the owner who explained that they had some plates that they wished to sell, and asked us to provide a secondary valuation, which was much higher than the original estimate. We estimated their combined value to be somewhere in the region of £15,000, rather than £6000. On our advice, these items were subsequently sold through a specialist auction and achieved a price of £21,200.
We often find that when we are called to a property to undertake a valuation, the client is sometimes aware of certain items of value but not necessarily everything, particularly in cases where the antiques and fine art may represent family heirlooms that have been passed down through generations. It is sometimes possible to spot items that had previously been overlooked, and yet are worth thousands of pounds in today’s market.
When dealing with particularly rare and fine items which will appeal to collectors, then selling by auction is most likely to result in our valuations of antiques and fine art being realised or sometimes exceeded, as in the case of these William de Morgan items.
Knowing the right place to sell which particular item is a skill and this is a skill that we have, based on 40 years of experience. We regularly advise clients on where to sell their items to gain the best possible price.
If you are in a position of having to decide where to auction certain items, do bear in mind that it is not necessarily recommended to sell everything through the same sale, at the same time or even in the same part of the country. Auction houses differ, not just in the way that they promote their sales, but also in other ways that may not be immediately apparent, but can impact directly on the appeal of that sale to would-be purchasers.
Considerations affecting antiques sale prices
Factors such as whether on-line bidding is possible, the commission charged to buyers, and whether the auction house in question is prepared to arrange delivery can all impact on the interest and ultimately the prices paid at a particular sale.
Some auction houses hold specialist sales, and have a particular client base that is interested in ceramics perhaps, or antique clocks, increasing the likelihood of top prices being realised. Then there are other issues that may be harder to assess, particularly from outside.
How well are the auctions promoted? How good is the auctioneer at gaining interest in the lots from would-be purchasers on the day? As in all walks of life, some are simply more talented in this respect than others, but it’s not something that you could easily assess yourself.
This is where expert, impartial advice from Malcolm Green Valuations can be so critical, in helping you to achieve the best prices for your items. Having accurate valuations of antiques and fine art from Malcolm at the outset – before approaching an auction house or dealer – will give you confidence when negotiating a reserve price or a sale.
Painting valued at £7k, sold for £39k with our help
Our advice recently helped one of our clients to obtain a realistic value for this painting (shown left), which was originally estimated to be worth in the region of £7000 by an auction house. Its owner was seriously thinking of including it in that particular sale, but wisely chose to come to us for a second opinion.
In our view, it had been seriously undervalued, and our client therefore decided to enter it in a different auction, with a new valuation of £20,000-£30,000. In the event, this picture sold here for £39,000, which enabled our client to gain a extra £32,000, compared with the original estimate.
We are completely unbiased with our valuations of antiques and fine art. We do not purchase such items to sell ourselves, nor are we affiliated to any auction house or dealer. You can be completely confident that we will simply give you the best advice possible, if you want to sell items.
If there are a number of different objects of value, it might not always be the case that they should go to the same auction house, as some are regarded as being more likely to achieve much higher prices for fine art than silver or clocks for example. The difference can be very significant, in terms of realising valuations of antiques and fine art.
By knowing which auction house is most suitable for the items that they wish to sell, our clients can ultimately achieve a return up to 40% higher, thanks to our advice.
Looking for heirloom valuation? Perhaps you need advice on inheritance tax relief? Contact Malcolm Green, or call on 01986 785198