A 19th century lift-top antique chest, produced by famed cabinetmaker Johannes Mayer, has beaten its high estimate by 26% at an auction in New Hampshire, US.
The Mahantongo Valley-based maker's handiwork sold for $63,000 against a $50,000 valuation on August 4.
 The Johannes Mayer chest last sold for $53,820 in 2007 |
Its price was boosted by a rare depiction of two praying children, produced by Reverend Isaac Stiehly. Just five such chests bearing the praying children are believed to be extant.
The item, produced between 1835 and 1840, had last changed hands for $53,820 in April 2007, representing a 17.06% gain, or 3% pa.
The result is indicative of the strength at the very top-end of the antique furniture market, in the US and around the world.
We are delighted to offer you our wonderful range of English 18th century furniture. A circa 1790 John Linnell Demi-Lune Commode can be yours for £125,000. View all our antique furniture here.
And if you're thinking about your purchase in terms of its investment potential, consider this. A report earlier this year by the UK's Daily Mail newspaper revealed that antique English furniture is selling in China for 10 times the amounts achieved in the UK.
The auction record for a piece of English furniture was set in December 2010, when the Harrington Commode, made by Thomas Chippendale circa 1770, sold for £3.8m.
Also featuring at the Rick & Terry Ciccotelli Collection of American Folk Art was a John Drissel orange slide-lid box, which sold for $71,000, more than doubling its $35,000 high estimate.
