Why buying antiques in Singapore can make a great investment

The right antique can give a room a ‘bit of an edge’ and anchor down the modern furniture (especially items of the flat-pack variety!). With so many of us keen to take home a memento of our time in Asia, investing in a piece or two from this part of the world makes sense. Polly Sweet spoke to Danielle Lee from Just Anthony about the antiques to look out for and how to make them work in your home.

Finding the right antiques for your home

antique dresser — A very handsome kitchen cabinet from the Shaoxing region of Zhejiang Province, this piece has more elaborate carvings than a standard kitchen cabinet. The original colour has been retained and finished with a clear semi-gloss lacquer

Have you seen a shift in peoples’ preferences towards antiques recently?

Yes, definitely. In recent years, we’ve noticed a lot more interest in antiques from expats and locals. While repro is still popular, there is a definite move towards buying original items.

What do you think the appeal of an antique piece is over, say, repro or something more contemporary?

When it comes to antiques, every piece is different – even if it’s the same style, from the same province and of the same age, the way that it has weathered will make it unique. It’s also guaranteed that it will have been hand-made and any details will have been hand-carved, so you will never find two pieces are quite the same, unlike today when everything is mostly machine-made.

I also think people are drawn to antiques because there is a story behind each item. For example, if there are motifs on the furniture, what do they mean? Where and how was the item used? And, perhaps most importantly, who was it used by? All these questions make the piece interesting.

These elm-wood chairs with rounded backs are from Northern China and around 80 to 100 years old. They’re surprisingly comfortable as the back is at a gentle angle

Is there a particularly dynasty, style or period that people are buying into, in particular?

Almost all the pieces that we have now are from China’s late Qing era (so, around 100 to 120 years old), the early Republic (1910 and 1920s) and the 1950s. But in terms of style, we find that the Ming-style designs never go out of fashion and the late Qing are also popular. Age aside, common household pieces like kitchen cabinets, benches, side tables and chairs are always sought-after. Besides the fact that they’re such a big part of everyone’s day-to-day life and so are more likely to be used, there’s a rustic, practical, down-to-earth feeling about these pieces that means they’re always in demand.