Building up Provenance
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- Published on 23 May 2013
If you, like me, have seen many episodes of The Antiques Road Show, you'll know that having a record of where an antique has come from and where it has been can make it more valuable as well as more interesting.
This glamorous and groovy 1960s dressing table is currently for sale in http://www.davidgavindesign.co.uk/theshop.html where I sell lots of my pieces. I love it just for itself; its shape, proportions, fabulous veneer, groovy legs, lovely knobs - great 1960s style. I love it regardless of where it's come from. When I'm buying pieces for the shop or for myself or for clients I tend to choose items that are intrinsically attractive and that I would love regardless of origin or even of whether they are genuine antiques or not, but I do get more of a kick out of something with a bit, or a lot, of history.
This dressing table isn't an antique yet, though it is a bit older than me and it already has a history. I was delighted when I was handed the original bill of sale showing where it was bought, who bought it and for how much:

Below is an image of the dressing table where it is today:

This is an image of how it looked when I spotted it at a trade only antiques fair in France. I didn't know if it had its mirror when I spied it so I was really pleased when the two cool young French dealers pulled it out from the back of their van - don't think display was their forte.

It did enjoy a bit of a stint in my home (perk of the job) where it was much loved but an antique dealer can't just hang on to all the good pieces!

http://www.kittyfishersfinds.co.uk/view_post.php?postid=1000000047
I'd like to think that this blog post could form part of its provenance too. If you own or buy any good pieces of furniture or interesting objects do make the small effort required to maintain its record of ownership. Someone at sometime in the future may be very thankful for it.
If you're in the UK have a fabulous Bank Holiday weekend.
Triciax