This has to be every lover of antiques fantasy find, $395,000 worth of antiques and art found in a hoarder’s council flat (government housing). When I read this story I just had to pass it along. We all dream of finding that hidden treasure that no one else has found. Most of the time it is at a yard sale, or hidden away in an attic, or lately discovered in an abandoned storage space as those found in “Storage Wars.”
Here are some of the details of the article written by Jamie Pyatt, found in the “Sun,” a leading UK newspaper (the source would not allow the images to be used):
Valuers forced to wade through wall-to-wall rubbish to get into the top-floor tower block property were stunned to discover almost 300 valuable treasures buried under piles of junk.
Among them was a 170- year-old wooden bowl from the native American Haida tribe — carved in the shape of a seal and worth £70,000.Others included a £10,000, 2ft-tall solid silver trophy presented to a captain in Nelson’s navy in 1796 and a £12,000 Chinese jade fish.
The 80-year-old owner got them from his London antique dealer parents then dumped them in boxes and under stacks of newspapers and an old mattress.
It goes on to say:
“There was hidden treasure in every nook. For example, an old camera case held 20 Georgian silver snuff boxes worth £300 to £400 each.
“It was meant to be a straightforward probate but it quickly became apparent this was something quite special, even though everything was very uncared-for.
Read more @ http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4246338/Cash-in-the-flattic.html/.
Some of our most memorable finds are dwarfed compared to this one, but were exciting to us none the less. A call came into the antique mall, where we had booths, from someone needing to sell some things. One of the girls behind the desk, gave us the contact. There is a good lesson for you antique mall dealers, it is always wise to be nice to the people working at the mall. Anyway we went to this tiny house in the old part of Oak cliff in Dallas. What we found inside was quite unexpected. We found five or six great pieces of furniture as well as some great smalls. Three of the furniture pieces were outstanding. The highlight was an Art Nouveau cheval mirror, with the two sides being nude ladies. It was one of the nicest pieces of furniture we ever had and probably the only one I wish we had kept. Another was a Chinese wedding chest that had exquisite carvings down both sides. I wish I had photos of both of these pieces. Finally there were a pair of 19th century Chippendale chairs which we still have today. This was about 25 years ago.
Those are the kind of finds that make being an antique dealer or collector so much fun.We will continue to strive to bring you the latest stories and news about the exciting world of Buying and Selling Antiques.
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