Buying at auction and tips on Georgian chests of drawers

Buying at auction

We have all seen auctions on the television, remember Dell Trotter fainting on the sale of their watch worth millions?

Can you buy a bargain at auction? Yes, you can, you can also waste a lot of money and end up paying a lot more than you were expecting though.

After over 40 years in the antiques business here are my tips on how auctions work, how to buy at them and a few memories.

Research

If you have the time and are new to auctions, go along to the auction you are thinking of buying from and watch. Make sure you sit on your hands, do not bid on anything and just watch. You only need to spend around an hour, how many items sell, how often does the auctioneer pass a lot (not sell it), how many lots sell on the telephone, sell on commission? Try and get a feel for the place.

Viewing 

Most auctions will have a viewing day or days or maybe a few hours before the sale starts. Always buy a catalogue, this will list all the lots with their lot numbers and a brief description of the piece, sometimes the auctioneer will supply a lot estimate – the range in which the lot is expected to sell. More about estimates and descriptions later.

Find the lot that you are looking for, let us say that it is a Georgian, mahogany chest of drawers.

Take a step back, do the proportions work, has it always had two drawers over three or has it been cut down? If it looks right, it probably is right. Now have a look at the back, do the backboards run horizontally or vertically, if vertically it was made after 1800.

Georgian period swan neck brass handles

Does it have handles or flat knobs, it probably should have brass swan neck handles, if original they will be fastened inside the drawer front with a round nut  (not a hexi nut). Is there a hole in the drawer behind the handles, if so the chest at one time had knobs which were later replaced with handles, original handles increase the value. While you are in the drawers take a look at the dovetails, no dovetails in a Georgian chest means very poor quality or the drawer has been replaced.

Dovetails to Georgian drawer front, note the poor cock bead repair and splitting due to pins

Are the bottoms of the drawers worn where they run on the frame? In saying that, are all the drawers there? If a small top drawer is missing look in the others, people sometimes hide drawers to make a chest look valueless and then bid on the piece. Are the drawer linings oak or pine? Oak is much better quality, the drawer bottoms often split, have they been repaired?

Has the piece been stripped and repolished, can you see the “spring” marks of an orbital sander in the veneers? Look at the feet, they should be brackets, do they all match, are they even all there? Look behind the feet for woodworm.

The above all needs to be taken into consideration when buying a simple chest of drawers. The description in the auctioneer’s catalogue will probably read “Georgian chest of two over three drawers £100.00 - £150.00” There will be no notes of originality or repairs etc. It is up to you to check everything; you are buying at your risk.

Commission

You will have to pay between 15 % and 30% + VAT of the hammer price (the amount you bid the item up to in the room) so that chest at £100.00 will cost you from c£118.00 to c£135.00 depending on the commission charged which should be detailed in the catalogue.

Day of the sale

Once you are happy with the lot that you are interested in deciding on a price you would like to pay and deduct the commission from this, the amount left is what you need to bid up to, this is very important, stick to your price!

You will need to register with the auction house, and they will give you a bidding paddle. A paddle is a piece of plastic or cardboard with your bidding number on it; you will need to show this to the auctioneer if you win a lot.

Most auctioneers will get through 120 lots an hour so you should be able to work out when yours is coming up, this means that you do not have to stand around all day.

I always stand in a prominent place at the back of the auction room – you need to be clearly seen by the auctioneer, and it is handy to see everyone else bid and what they are bidding on.

Let us say that our Georgian chest is lot 104 and you are willing to pay £160.00 in the room for it. It has been valued at £100.00 - £150.00 and you would think that the reserve (the least it will be sold for) should be £100.00 and the most is £150.00, sadly no, this is a guide price only and the small print in the catalogue will tell you that.

For this example, we will say that the reserve is £110.00, the auctioneer will want to attract interest so will start low at maybe £60.00.

Auctioneer “Lot 104, Georgian, mahogany chest, who will start me at £60.00?”

Nothing, silence, you could hear a pin drop.

Auctioneer “£60.00 I am bid, £70.00, £80.00, £90.00, £100.00”

The bids are commissions, Internet bids or being bounced off the wall.

A commission bid is a bid that has been left by a potential bidder who could not attend the sale or did not want to be seen there, the same as an Internet bid but the bidder is sat at home on his computer.

If the auctioneer is taking the bids in the room and you can not see who is bidding he may be taking them behind you, how can he though as you are standing at the back? He is bouncing them off the wall, they are fake bids and he can legally do this until he reaches the reserve price.   

At £100.00 all goes quiet again, this is your chance as the next bid is £120.00, you need to bid now as if there is a counter bid it will be £140.00 which you can top with your £160.00, if someone else bids £120.00 you may be wrong footed and only be able to bid £140.00 or £180.00.

Do not scratch your nose, wink or touch your ear, hold your paddle up clearly, if the auctioneer does not see you call “Sir” until he does. He will like being called sir and it may help you later in the sale or another day.

Auctioneer “Do I see £140.00?”

He will give Internet bidders a chance.

Auctioneer “Last chance, selling now at £120.00”

Bang, the gavel has gone down, you own the chest. As you own if it gets stolen or damaged it is down to you (check those terms and conditions again).

Auctioneer “Lot 105, a Regency looking glass”

Now you have to clear it, that day if you can (once it has been paid for) or the next day is usually ok, if you wait too long you may have to pay for daily storage. There will be porters around to help but it would be wise to take a friend to help.

If it is raining cover it as the water will ruin the polish.

This is where you realise that the  chest will not fit in the back of your car, sorry, I should have mentioned this, always measure the piece and make sure that it will fit in the car, that is taught on day one at antique school along with the story linked to Willow patterned pottery.

If it has to go on the roof rack do not use bungies or rope, use lorry straps.

I once lost a Victorian pedistol desk from the roof of a Volvo just outside Henley on Thames, this was due to using sash cord to tie it on with, I heard it go and in the mirror the sight I saw would have made Sir Barnes Wallis jump for joy. As I was in the road gathering the pieces a fried called me asking if I had any scrap wood for sale, his wife was in the car behind!

All the pieces were collected and the desk was glued back together.

Incidentally a small piece of furniture is worth more than its larger cousin. It is logical really, a 3’ wide chest will fit in a lot more places than a 3’6” wide one.