On the trail for fine campaign furniture Nick Hall from Bentleys Fine Art Auctioneers talks about the current interest for pieces of furniture with fascinating connections to

We often read and hear in the media about the decline of the market for antique furniture, the so called ‘brown furniture’, but there are some aspects of the antique furniture market that is as hot now as ever, and getting hotter for the right pieces.

One hot area currently is the interest in 18th and 19th century Campaign Furniture!

Campaign furniture was any furniture specifically made to break down or fold down for ease of travel, predominantly during military campaigns across lands overseas, bringing a touch of home-from-home comfort and practicality to long arduous periods of tent life and battle.

These pieces were designed to be packed up and carried on the march by travelling armies, commonly associated with British Army Officers of the Georgian and Victorian periods (17141901). The most common item of campaign furniture is the chest of drawers, sometimes referred to as a military chest, made of attractive hardwoods such as teak, camphor, mahogany or walnut, strengthened with brass strapwork and brass corners, made to break down into two sections for ease of transport. Most items of campaign furniture are instantly recognisable as made to dismantle or fold, with hinges where you wouldn’t normally expect to see them, folding legs, etc. These are all handy indicators of furniture built with travel in mind. There were a surprisingly large number of differing items of campaign furniture produced, including collapsible candlesticks (known as Brighton Buns), portable beds that fold up like a concertina, fourposter beds, dining tables and chairs, cooking equipment, wash stands, writing desks, even day beds and table-top bars! Many other ingenious furnishings eased the life of a soldier or explorer, and for high-ranking military officers, the better one’s tent was kitted out, the better the social standing.

The early 20th century saw changes in the way war was conducted. Mobile units needed to be on the move ever quicker, and the development of transport and motor vehicles meant that soldiers on the whole didn’t need to equip themselves so thoroughly for a long journey, and naturally this meant a decrease in the demand for campaign furniture.

We see continued and growing interest in campaign furniture today for various reasons, the clean lines often found in campaign furniture make them fit in well with contemporary interiors, the ingenuity of design is an appealing aspect to owning examples, and of course the history and social history attached to them is a big factor.

Superb

Here at Bentley’s Fine Art Auctioneers, we are very lucky to have a superb example of British campaign furniture in our forthcoming Antiques, Fine Art and Collector’s auction in Cranbrook on Saturday March 4. This brass mounted walnut two-section secretaire desk by Gregory Kane of Dublin, c.1860, is probably the best example I’ve discovered or seen in many many years.

Most chests of this period can be bought for just a few hundred pounds, but this example will start at £1,000 and then I can see a bidding war starting, with duelling collectors firing shots of ever higher bids until the opposition surrender, in their campaign for victory to win the spoils of war and add this fabulous piece to their collections!

I wouldn’t be surprised if bidding doubles the starting price, but you’ll have to come along and see for yourself this rarity and a thousand other fab pieces on offer. See you at the sale! bentleysfineartauctioneers.co.uk