On Furniture: Paul van den Biesen

In the first of a series of interviews with insiders in the world of design and antiques, CABINET speaks to Paul van den Biesen (b.1983), Associate Director, Head of Auction European Noble & Private Collections and Furniture Specialist at Christie’s headquarter at King Street in London.

Antique furniture might have been away a bit over the past years, but it’s been coming back in a big way. Paul is not only a great example of the new-found passion for antique furniture of a younger Generation, but also knows rather much on the subject, as could be guessed from his job description. CABINET speaks to him about his personal and professional passion for furniture.

What is the beauty of furniture to you?
For me a decent piece of furniture is first of all a usable work of art, which has been crafted with care and love, and expresses a certain period and region. Similar to the Fine Arts, antique furniture and objects are a window to our cultural past.

What attracts me to antique furniture especially is the intellectual challenge to establish when and where a piece was crafted by exploring the decoration scheme and the use of materials. As most furnitue is not signed by its creator, it is the ultimate challenge to recognise the craftsmanship of one of the great masters. 

What are your favourite periods or styles?
My favourite period or style changes almost every day. One day I come across a beautiful blue painted Italian rococo commode with yellow sienna marble top and hoof-shaped feet; the other day I was amazed by the naturalistically detailed ormolu-mounts on a Louis XV kingwood commode by Charles Cressent. 

Recently I came across a giltwood Louis XV fauteuil, which is carved with so much detail that it almost looks like it could go for a walk. Looking at furniture could sometimes also influence my mood – see for example this elaborate Italian rococo commode that made me feel like dancing.

Italian Rococo Commode

What impact has your professional experience and expertise on your personal taste?
Due to my work surroundings I have developed a rather picky and expensive taste! Nevertheless, I am always looking out for the unusual and unexpected piece of furniture - something out of the ordinary. For example a George I ‘japanned’ cabinet-on-stand which was made copying the well-sought-after Asian lacquer cabinets in the late 17th and early 18th century 

The Badminton Cabinet, 
by the Grand Ducal Workshops, 
Florence, circa 1720-1732.

What is your most favourite piece of furniture, and why?
From a professional perspective my answer should be: the Badminton Cabinet, sold by Christie’s in 2004. With the result of ￡19m/$36m it is still the most expensive piece of furniture ever sold at auction.

In the more affordable segment, however, I would choose my George I ‘japanned’ cabinet on giltwood stand. ‘Japanned’ is the European term for imitated Asian lacquer. The very fashionable Chinese and Japanese lacquer cabinets where prominently placed in the staterooms of great houses and castles throughout Europe. However the quantity of Asian pieces making it to the West was very low around 1700 and therefore the inventive British craftsmen found a way to imitate the Asian lacquer. It would take until the mid-19thcentury to produce proper lacquer in Europe and my cabinet-on-stand is a rare and early example.
Nowadays the use of a cabinet-on-stand like this, with its many drawers hidden most of the time behind doors and overall dark rectangular shape, is not very practical. Nevertheless, the esthetics pleases me every time again when I open the doors to show my guest the naively imitated oriental scenes on the inside.

A George I japanned cabinet-on-stand, 
circa 1700.

Frank Lloyd Wright once said 'I have been black and blue in some spot, somewhere, almost all my life from too intimate contacts with my own furniture’. Do you agree that furniture is something to be lived with, rather than only looked at?
Reading this quotation I believe FLW might have profited from the help of an interior decorator. I am very strict about the way furniture or works of art are placed within a space. One of the favourite parts of my job is the setup of the viewing days, when all the artworks are being displayed before the auction takes place. It is a great challenge to work with the same exhibition space yet every time with a different content. I have to come up with new ideas to make the pieces stand at their best. I also like to change around my furniture at home quite regularly, which is not always to my wife’s amusement. Coming back to the question, however, I believe that it is the combination of living with the pieces and enjoying their esthetics at the same time, the use and the enjoyment do coexist and are for me personally not to be regarded as isolated from each other.

Frank Lloyd Wright behind his desk 

Do you have tips for people who are considering buying their first serious piece of furniture? How can they start discover both what they like and what is quality? 
Before acquiring a good piece of furniture I would advise anyone to go and see as many pieces as possible to train one’s eye but to most importantly discover one’s own taste and not to forget a feeling for prices. Talking to professionals during auction house visits and art fairs, such as Cabinet, help to further educate and develop one’s taste. Altogether this kind of exposure to such a vast variety of pieces will give you a very good overview on what is currently being offered on the market. Furthermore I would suggest visiting museums as the Victoria & Albert in London or the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. 

Once you have a good understanding of the current market and have figured out what you like, it may be helpful to keep in mind a specific spot in your house when searching for a piece of furniture. Once you have found a potentially suitable piece explore prices for comparative pieces on the market, i.e. auction results at Christies.com. Requesting condition reports from the vendor is essential before a purchase of a piece of furniture in order to be aware of any restorations or replacements, which can have a significant impact on the price. If all the above boxes have been ticked, you should go for it! Last, but not least: acquire the piece of furniture that makes you happy, because, in contrary to most of the current (Swedish) mass-production furniture, you will have to live with it for quite a while.

Interview for CABINET by MENEERVANDERLEE, see CabinetAmsterdam.com.