An improbable reunion

Jan & John Maggs

Antiques and Art

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We had spent all of Thursday morning and much of the afternoon trudging through acres of antiques dealer spaces at the Newark Antiques and Collectables Fair, one of the largest antiques events in the Western world. To our surprise and delight, buying had been so good for us that we were nearly out of cash. With the Portobello antiques market in London only two days away, we needed to replenish our wallets. We decided to go into the center of Newark to use an ATM.

Heavy traffic on the A46 caused us to miss our usual Newark exit, and we decided to continue to the next roundabout and take an unfamiliar road into town, which caused us to reach the town centre from the opposite direction. Hoping to get our bearings, we parked and began exploring the unfamiliar neighborhood. Soon, we spotted an antiques shop, which we entered - primarily to ask directions to a bank. Of course, we would make a quick tour of the shop, but we were tired and, furthermore, had only negative expectations. Most likely, we surmised, this would be another musty old shop, populated by very old dealers and not-so-old glass, china, and used furniture. We opened the door and walked in.

To our astonishment, we were greeted by a young, articulate gentleman, who was presiding over a pleasant showroom containing several pieces of interesting period furniture, attractively displayed and complemented by a careful selection of good smalls. Although nothing appeared to be of the period we were looking for, we decided to explore the basement showroom.

As we reached the bottom of the staircase, we found ourselves in a roomful of exceptional 17th and 18th century oak and walnut furniture. There was virtually nothing we wouldn’t have been happy to own. The problem was that there was nothing we could afford to buy for resale. We walked, looked, and touched, doing our best not to drool on the floor.

When we returned upstairs, we complimented the shopkeeper on the quality of his things and continued our exploration of the ground floor. In the furthermost showroom, suspended above a large, handsome 19th century dining table, was an outstanding 18th century two-tiered chandelier. We checked the price, expecting it to be as far beyond reach as the furniture downstairs, and were shocked. It was affordable, and the trade discount made it impossible to refuse.

We asked to have it removed from the ceiling, and we inspected it carefully. It took only seconds to determine that, although it was made for candles, it had been electrified later in its life. More recently, the wiring had been removed, and the holes through which they passed were filled. It had been at least partially restored.

The shopkeeper told us that a friend had bought it at one of the local fairs a few years ago and had removed the external wiring to restore it to a more appropriate condition. He then sold it to the BBC, for use as a prop in their production of Little Dorrit. When filming was finished, the friend bought it back for a fraction of his selling price.

As we listened to this story, we both recalled that, around that same time we had been offered two very similar chandeliers at the Swinderby show, a few miles north of Newark. One had been electrified, while the other was in original condition, and both were the same price. We had bought the perfect one and left the other.

The chandelier we didn't buy looked VERY much like this one, which would now be ours for about one-third of what we paid for the first. We expect to complete the restoration and sell it for a price that reflects this difference. The chandelier won't make it to our April opening, but its restoration should be complete within a few months.

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Click HERE to visit the J&J Maggs Antiques home page.