
Where can you find Duncan Phyfe’s furniture?
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City contains numerous Phyfe-attributed or authenticated pieces. One such furniture suite includes a Duncan Phyfe sofa, two armchairs, ten side chairs, and two footstools. Duncan Phyfe didn’t achieve his wide acclaim by inventing an entirely new furniture style.
What are the characteristics of a Duncan Phyfe dining table?
Single- or double-pedestal Duncan Phyfe dining tables often feature carved legs with animal-style feet. Table legs frequently showcase reed carvings and acanthus leaves. Duncan Phyfe designs often exhibit Neoclassical style elements that utilize ancient Grecian symbols. Lyres, scrolls, and acanthus leaves are common.
How much is a Duncan Phyfe needlepoint table worth?
Ladies’ Needlepoint Rockers: Petite construction, needlepoint upholstery In the past, antique experts estimated that an original Duncan Phyfe table was worth $50,000 to $150,000. However, relatively recent 21st-century selling prices are far below that price range.
What kind of wood did Duncan Phyfe use?
Mahogany Duncan Phyfe furniture pieces are common. Phyfe also used rosewood, black walnut, cherry, and maple woods. Duncan Phyfe frequently embellished his tables with paper-thin veneers.

What year is Duncan Phyfe furniture?
Duncan Phyfe (1768-1854) was a late 18th Century/early 19th Century craftsman who produced traditional style furniture. While Eastlake furniture was a popular style in the late 19th century, Duncan Phyfe furniture designs are based on what was popular and fashionable in Europe in the late 1700s and early 1800s.
When did they stop making Duncan Phyfe furniture?
In 1847 the business was sold and Duncan retired. Although Phyfe did not originate a new furniture style, he interpreted fashionable European styles in a manner so distinguished by grace and excellent proportions that he became a major spokesman for Neoclassicism in the United States.
Are Duncan Phyfe table worth anything?
Values for an original Duncan Phyfe table range from $50,000 to $150,000. That value is based on actual sales record where somebody actually paid cash, swiped a credit card, or wrote a check for that amount. It is not a price or auction estimate.
Is Duncan Phyfe veneer?
It is a Duncan Phyfe style rectangle with rounded corners, veneer top, double pedestals w/ leaf decoration, gold claw feet and casters. It extends to just a hair under 10 feet long. Bad stuff: a few nicks around the ehges a couple of minor gouges to the veneer.
How do I know if Duncan Phyfe is original?
If your piece doesn't have a signature, there are other ways to confirm you have a Duncan Phyfe original. The most obvious way is with reliable documentation or provenance. Finding a 175-to-215-year-old bill of lading for the piece would be ideal.
How can you tell if a table is antique?
Look carefully at the bottom, sides, and back of the drawer; if the wood shows nicks or cuts, it was probably cut with a plane, a spokeshave, or a drawknife. Straight saw marks also indicate an old piece. If the wood shows circular or arc-shaped marks, it was cut by a circular saw, not in use until about 1860.
How do you date a drop leaf table?
Straight Saw Marks – Like most antique furniture, you can date a piece by its saw marks. Leading up to the early 1800s, saw marks were straight. Anything after was cut with a circular saw. If a drop leaf table has a circular saw cut, it's not that old, but might still be worth the restoration effort.
How do I identify an antique drop leaf table?
How to Identify Antique Drop-Leaf TablesLook at the finish of the table to determine whether it has a patina of age. ... You can identify antique furniture by looking for saw marks, especially on the tabletop. ... Look at the antique furniture hardware used in the construction of the table.More items...
What wood did Duncan Phyfe use?
Mahogany Duncan Phyfe furniture pieces are common. Phyfe also used rosewood, black walnut, cherry, and maple woods.
What style of furniture did Phyfe make?
Around 1800, Phyfe’s furniture craftsmen were producing delicately-finished furniture pieces in the Sheraton, French Directoire, and Regency styles. By 1825, buyers’ preferences shifted to the heavier Empire style, so Phyfe changed with the times, and began producing pieces in that genre. Fortunately, his well-heeled customers continued ...
How much is a Duncan Phyfe table worth?
In the past, antique experts estimated that an original Duncan Phyfe table was worth $50,000 to $150,000. However, relatively recent 21st-century selling prices are far below that price range. The following are average auction selling prices for Duncan Phyfe furniture pieces. Averages were calculated from the mean sale price of four pieces of similar furniture.
What is Duncan Phyfe furniture?
The evolution of Duncan Phyfe furniture is an American cabinetmaker’s success story. From humble beginnings, Phyfe became known for his contributions to fine American furniture.
What is Phyfe known for?
Phyfe was known for his furniture’s excellent proportions and graceful lines, both well-known Neoclassical style hallmarks.
How to confirm Duncan Phyfe?
If your piece doesn’t have a signature, there are other ways to confirm you have a Duncan Phyfe original. The most obvious way is with reliable documentation or provenance. Finding a 175-to-215-year-old bill of lading for the piece would be ideal. Or, look for a document or invoice that confirms that the furniture’s original owners (or family members) commissioned Phyfe to craft the piece.
When did Duncan Phyfe furniture start selling?
A reproduced Duncan Phyfe dining-room set from the early to mid-1900s recently sold for thousands of dollars.
What is Duncan Phyfe furniture?
Phyfe was heavily influenced by Hepplewhite and his influence is easily seen. The style is commonly known for harps, lutes, and lyres in chair backs.
Where did Duncan Phyfe come from?
Duncan Phyfe is an exception. Coming to the U.S. in 1784 from Scotland, he established himself as a talented cabinet and furniture maker in New York, pulling from Neoclassical and Regency styles and developing his own unique characteristics that are still imitated in reproductions today.
What wood was the original sandbox made of?
Many original pieces would have been made from hard strong woods such as mahogany and walnut. However, all modern-day reproductions can vary.
What is Duncan Phyfe furniture?
While Eastlake furniture was a popular style in the late 19th century, Duncan Phyfe furniture designs are based on what was popular and fashionable in Europe in the late 1700s and early 1800s. European furniture designs informed the look of Duncan Phyfe furniture.
What does an appraisal assume?
The appraisal assumes that there are no hidden conditions and the appraiser assumes no responsibility for the same.
How much is a Duncan Phyfe dining table worth?
An original wooden table by Duncan Phyfe would be worth in the $50,000 to $150,000 range on the antiques market, today. For instance, recently, an original carved mahogany dining table by Duncan Phyfe from circa 1815 measuring 30 inches in height sold for $132,000.
What is fair market value appraisal?
The fair market value has been defined as the price at which a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither under any compulsion to buy or sell, without the necessity of a forced sale and commensurate with the market in which the item most commonly sells and with both parties having reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts agree on the sale price of the item. This appraisal reflects the appraiser’s opinion of the fair market value which has been established by rarity, comparability to similar items in the current market being offered and sold at private galleries and public auctions, published sales records, desirability, condition, and recent market trends.
When was Duncan Phyfe furniture collected?
Duncan Phyfe furniture was highly collected in the Federal period and later, in the 1930s to the 1950s, too. Reproduction Duncan Phyfe furniture–the furniture your grandmother owned in the era following World War II–has the same stylish and elegant look as the original Duncan Phyfe pieces. These reproductions have held their value well. For example, a vintage dining room set by Duncan Phyfe dating from the early to mid 1900s regularly sell for thousands of dollars. Do you have an original or reproduction?
How long does it take to get an appraisal report?
The appraisal report will take no more than ten (10) days from the date of the receipt of your payment to be delivered. We will email the report to you at the email address you provided no more than ten (10) days from the date of the receipt of your payment. If you requested additional sales records after you received your Online Appraisal, those additional sales records will be provided to you no more than ten (10) days after the receipt of your payment for the additional sales records. We reserve the right to refuse to appraise any item offered for appraisal.
What information is included in an appraisal report?
If we agree to complete the Online Appraisal based on a digital image (s), we will prepare an appraisal report to include the following information: maker name or nationality of artist if available, general description of the piece, approximate date of the item, dimensions of the item, comparable sales record (s) and estimated value. The report will be based on the information ascertained from research and analysis in support of the appraiser’s opinion.
