The antiques market has staged a very swift recovery this year. As Journal antiques columnist and Brown & Co auctioneer Craig Bewick reports, the speed of the improvement has taken everyone by surprise, with the result that salerooms are now desperately scrabbling around to attract entries . . .

Sales are improving across the region

The recession is having a significant impact on auction room activity around the country. Business is, if not exactly booming, then at least blooming. There has been a marked upturn in recent months.

Here in Brigg we saw improvement from the very first sale of the year, in January, and that continued throughout the first quarter. Reports published recently indicate that the trend is national, with auction rooms around the country experiencing a similar upturn.

Furthermore, the improvement is not just confined to the top end of the antiques market – which has never actually suffered much of a downturn anyway – but is seeing much stronger demand for antiques and collectables in the under-£5,000 bracket.

It would seem that faced with savings accounts paying derisory levels of interest, people are making the decision to invest in things like jewellery, silver, paintings and collectables, which not only look prettier than bank statements but also offer better prospective returns.

Perhaps most encouraging of all is the rise in furniture prices, up around 20 per cent this year, and getting back towards levels that were last seen 10 or 15 years ago. Again, it is not just the top end that is taking off, the middle and bottom sections are doing much better, too.

A strong indication of the way that things are going is the fact that the London trade is back on the scene. Almost all of the major furniture lots in the last antiques auction at Brigg – including a spectacular Sri Lankan specimen table (£2,500) and Regency coromandel card table (£1,400) – were snapped up by London buyers.

These major players have been pretty reticent over the past year or two, reluctant to buy on spec and add to the stocks in already bulging storerooms. Things had to be pretty spectacular – and cheap – to attract their interest or they had to have a buyer lined up for a piece even before the auction.

All of which sounds like very good news – except that there is now a dearth of furniture coming into the auction rooms to satisfy this growing demand! With prices bumping along the bottom for so long, vendors have naturally been reluctant to send things for auction unless they absolutely had to.

Auction rooms around the country are desperate for furniture . . we are in the same boat.

Our next quarterly Antiques and Fine Art auction is scheduled to take place at the end of this month and we’re pulling out all the stops to get some good furniture in.

It can be a crazy business: One minute you have lots of stuff and few buyers and then there are lots of buyers – and no stuff!

What do we want? Top of my list is anything Georgian, small and pretty but frankly, at the moment I’m ready to consider anything old and interesting.

Early entries may give some indication of the prices currently being achieved under the hammer.

We have a Victorian Davenport desk. They are always popular, fit into modern homes and they are almost always pretty pieces. This one dates from the 1860s, it is a very pretty piece, and it is expected to make £300-£500.

Meanwhile, a mid to late 19th century continental desk should do even better. Probably Dutch, it has a three-part brass gallery, an inlaid front and serpentine supports. I would be very surprised if it did not make £500-£800.

I would also mention a George III mahogany barrel corner cupboard. It is a nice thing and with the market as it is, I would think that should go for £400-£600. Quite a lot more than you would have put on it six months ago.

All markets rise and fall, of course. It was certain that demand for antiques would improve but the speed at which things have changed in recent months has rather taken people in the business by surprise.

Looking at the first quarter at the Brigg Auction Rooms, the sale totals are considerably up on the same period last year, the number of people viewing sales has risen noticeably – and more than that, they are not just window shopping. The people who are attending sales are buying and private buyers have returned, thus boosting prices.

Naturally, one swallow doesn’t make a summer and I would not wish to get carried away and over-egg the situation but it is encouraging. The fact that reports from around the country are portraying pretty much the same picture does indicate that it is not just a blip or some localised flash in the pan brought about by some particularly good sales or changes introduced by a brilliant team of auctioneers!

Bring any items in for a free valuation every Thursday morning at the saleroom, Old Courts Road, Brigg DN20 8JF, between 9.30am and noon, or contact us on: (01652) 650172 for further details.