Antiques Magazine Archive, December 2023

We reflect on why antiques are such a wonderful Christmas gift, both to your loved one - and yourself.

Read on for a Christmas message from Antiques.co.uk's founder, Iain Brunt.

As we begin the countdown to Christmas, time is running out to ship larger, bulkier items in time for the big day. 

That means smaller, easier to ship pieces become a more attractive option if you're still on the lookout for what is fast becoming a last minute gift!?

If you're not sure where to start - and to avoid battling the hectic high street shops on Christmas Eve - we've listed our top ten smaller antique and vintage gifts that you can get delivered to you in time for Christmas.

Starting 12 November 2024, U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) will strictly enforce new regulations requiring precise descriptions for goods in Air Cargo Advanced Screening (ACAS) for shipments to the U.S. or transiting via the U.S.

Shipments with vague or incomplete descriptions may face delays at the point of origin.

Wondering what to buy your children for Christmas this year?

Read our seven best Christmas gift ideas for kids - and why buying an antique gift for them can make the past a GREAT present.

Another Christmas is on the horizon – yet the last one seems like it was only yesterday.

That means only one thing: special Christmas gifts must be sought out for her – your wife, partner, girlfriend, mother, sister. Some find it relatively easy to think up another round of excellent gift ideas for her, but many of us aren’t quite so inspired.

So where do you start, if you’re looking for unique Christmas gift ideas for the special woman (or women?!) in your life?

If you’re reading this article, then you’re in the right place...

It can be exceedingly difficult trying to come up with gift ideas for your husband, partner, boyfriend or father at Christmas.

Often they just seem to already have everything they want already, or sometimes they don’t appear to have any particular interests to buy for (and going to the pub doesn’t really count as a ‘hobby’).

Many fathers will tell you that they just don’t need anything this year – that’s about as helpful as the two word replies they usually send to your text messages.

So what do you do? Read our seven best antique and vintage gift ideas for men this Christmas, of course!

At this time of year it can be nigh on impossible to decide what’s best in terms of a Christmas gift for loved ones. Some of us struggle with this problem every year. It can be extremely difficult for those who seemingly have everything, or have no discernible hobbies to speak of.

Figuring out what to buy someone can turn into the nightmare before Christmas!

So if you're looking for antique and vintage Christmas gifts to delight and surprise, go no further - here are this year's recommendations from Antiques.co.uk.

Written by Gill Jones

In this blog, we’re discovering how Advent calendars came about: the fascinating history behind advent calendars, and how they became so popular.

We’re also discussing some excellent Christmas gift ideas – and why the past really does make a great present for the people you love.

We're open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - start browsing our Christmas gift categories!

As the clocks ‘go back’ this weekend in the UK, antiques expert and founder of Antiques.co.uk, Iain Brunt, explores the origins of measuring time, and how sundials and clocks developed – with five top picks from our wide range of antique clocks from around the world (no matter what time zone you’re in).

October sees Europe in a frenzy with art fairs including Frieze London, Art Basel Paris and of course the many global auctions.

If you find these fairs and auctions a little bit hectic for your taste, you’re not alone. But there is a way you can explore thousands of fantastic pieces of art without having to brave the queues.

Here's how to start collecting antique and vintage art without breaking into a sweat.

With a few days of rather unseasonably cold, wet weather in early September, came the slightly premature reminder that autumn is very nearly upon us here in the UK.

The rapid swing from shorts and sandals to winter coats and hot water bottles had half the country digging out their autumn wardrobe again – just a few months after they’d packed it away.  

But with the return of autumn comes the shift in acquiring antiques. Whilst they are of course investments and collectibles, if you’re of the mind that antique pieces are also here to be actually used – which they are – then it’s a perfect time to think about searching for some pieces to make your home feel ready for the autumn.

Here are nine ways of zhuzhing up your home that will have you eager for the clocks to go back.

Political events, controversy and debate is an endless source of news around the world. We seem to be glued to every move our politicians make, and hang on every word they say. And the fascination continues into the world of antiques and collectibles!

Antiques.co.uk’s founder, Iain Brunt, finds it intriguing that “so many people can discuss topics that appear not to have any relevance to the country they are representing…so many promises never fulfilled.”

Whether or not the actions of politicians in our lives live up to their words, political antique collecting has been a thing for many years. You may never have given it any thought, but there’s a whole raft of collectibles out there – and plenty of appetite for them, too.

Here's all you need to know about political collectibles.

With the huge range of antique shops, dealers, flea markets and galleries, it can be hard to know where to start collecting.

Antiques expert Iain Brunt, founder of Antiques.co.uk, believes that there are crucial questions to ask before you start spending.

From Iain’s many years of experience at galleries in New York, London, Paris and Japan come this list to help you choose the best value antiques.

DEFRA (the Department of Trade and Rural Affairs) are soon to be updating UK rules regarding items containing, or made of, ivory (but not the walrus).

Read on to explore the current rules, exemptions for dealing in ivory, what to do with ivory that's not exempt, how to check if your item qualifies for exemption, and how to register any antiques that contain ivory.

Summer is finally here…nearly. And with it comes everything the Great British garden party has to offer: drinks on the terrace, flowers, sunshine (hopefully), all served with a touch of class.

If there was one thing that the Edwardians did well, it was gardens. It was during the 1900s and 1910s that Gertrude Jekyll was prolific in her garden designs, favouring irises and all manner of blousy flowers. Architects like Sir Edwin Lutyens were also hard at work, designing orangeries and formal gardens all over the UK.

So today we’re looking at antiques for your Edwardian summer garden party inspiration.

Father’s Day in the UK is a celebration of – you guessed it – fathers. And whilst many dads won’t be overly bothered if they don’t receive a gift from their children, it’s still a nice way to show one’s thanks to a person who hashttps://www.antiques.co.uk/antique/56-Hour-Chronometer been so influential in their lives.

In this article, we’re exploring the origins of Father’s Day, before looking at some dad-friendly antique gift ideas just for you.

As we head again into the week of the Chelsea Flower Show, what better time to let the inspiration flow for zhuzhing up your garden.

But instead of rushing down to your local B&Q and blowing thousands of pounds on some ghastly rattan furniture or fibreglass planters, you should consider investing in these garden antiques.

But why? The answer is simple - read on to find out.

Chelsea Flower Show is nearly upon us, so what better time to take a look at the relationship between antiques and flowers?

Antiques.co.uk Founder Iain Brunt explores why flowers have been an integral part of many styles of antique design throughout the ages – and why life would be so much less fun without them.

In the latest blog by Antiques.co.uk Founder Iain Brunt, explore what made the Jackson Type II antique collectable typewriter fetch a record price at auction recently - and how you could get your typewriter professionally appraised.

Do you think you know what is meant by an ‘original’ pair? You might actually be surprised to find that it’s not quite what you thought!

And how difficult could it possibly be to find an original pair of antiques?!

Answers to both of these questions are explored by Antiques.co.uk Founder and global art consultant Iain Brunt.

This is everything you need to know about antiques in pairs.