The value of antique furniture dropped in 2009, according to the Antiques Collector Club’s Annual Furniture Index (AFI) recorded a fall of seven per cent during 2009. The biggest ever 12-month drop reflects lukewarm bidding at auctions and little trading at retail outlets.

The AFI, which stood at 100 at its inception in 1968 and reached a historic high of 3492 points in 2003, moved downwards from 2942 to 2736, due to falls in all seven of its indices.

Volume was down as vendors dig in and wait for better times. London salerooms, in particular, sold fewer lots of furniture in 2009, with oak down 5% and country furniture down 9%.

The AFI is derived from a selection of 1400 typical pieces of antique furniture, taken from seven distinct periods or categories illustrated and charted in the ACC book, ‘British Antique Furniture’. Calculations are based on both auction and retail prices recorded across the country.

Compiler John Andrews observed the greatest number of transactions taking place at auction with much 19th century furniture selling for drastically reduced prices. The Regency index down 8%, is one of the worst hit since the market turned in 2001 and a long list of once desirable furniture forms have lost ground, particularly those associated with formal dining and entertaining.

The separate Victorian & Edwardian index, started in 1973 continues to drop. Standard late 19th and early 20th century cabinetmaking remains unfashionable and dropped 12 per cent.

There were some spectacular sales recorded at the top end, but the quantity of high-quality pieces brought to the market diminished and even these were less abundant than in the previous year.

A fuller analysis by AFI compiler John Andrews is published in the February edition of Antique Collectors’ Club magazine Antique Collecting.

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