Antiques From Europe...Is It Really The "Goose That Layed the Golden Egg?"

by Michael Temple

Many dealers and auctioneers have been bringing container loads of antiques from Europe for years now. The lure of getting "fresh to the market" antique furniture and "smalls" is something that can bring renewed excitement back into your antique business.

Buying antiques by the container load can be a mental "rush", but is it the business builder some have made it out to be?

Back in 1998, while I was still in the antique and estate auction and liquidation business, I decided to purchase a load of antique furniture and smalls and have the container shipped to my facility in New York State.

I’ll spare you the details of how exactly this is done during this article.

I received the load buy tractor trailer, and had friends help me unload the container. It was packed full and tight, and the furniture was quite impressive to say the least!

I was impressed by the high quality and good prices, and by the fact that I could have the load delivered right to my place of business.

There were twist leg oak hall trees, high relief wardrobes, dining room suits, chairs, bureaus, desks, marble top stands, dressers and much, much more. And that was just the furniture!

Inside the dressers and desks, there were smalls galore. Tucked inside one of the dressers was a hand-stitched sampler from 1861. The sampler was done by a mother who had lost a child at birth, and it achieved a high price at auction. I was most impressed with the condition and quantity of the smalls.

I have been in touch with auctioneers and dealers who have had both good and bad experiences with buying antiques in Europe. I have noticed that without exception, the difference between a good experience and a bad one rested solely on who they actually did business with.

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