'Trends in Antiques', Mark Medcalf, Mark Medcalf Associates

Our speaker was Mark Medcalf of Mark Medcalf Associates, fine art and antique valuers. He announced first of all that he was not a dealer. He had been in the business for 30 years - first as an auctioneer, then as a valuer. Much of his work is valuing items for insurance purposes. He had just spent three days in Corstorphine valuing items in a house which had belonged to an elderly lady who had passed away earlier in the year.

He stated that, just like the stock market, antique items that go up in price will eventually come down again. As an example of this he explained that antique mahogany furniture is worth a quarter what it was worth ten years ago. It seems that, for various reasons, people stop buying items that were once popular and the market collapses. Paintings by Scottish colourist artists have never been cheap and saw big rises in the 1980s. They then went down in price but have now started to rise again. Once popular silver has now only the melt down value.

The upward trend at the moment are Chinese antiques. Values have increased significantly recently but will eventually come down. The Russian market was very strong but has now started to fall. Contemporary glass is good value at present and should increase in price soon.

On a question about diamonds Mark advised that they were tricky as much depended on quality and colour. A better bet for a collector were gem stones such as sapphires, emeralds and rubies.

On another question about ivory he advised that, while it is within the law to own it, it is illegal to sell anything created or carved after 1947.

Altogether this was a most interesting talk.

A vote of thanks was given by Roy Johnston.

Report by Alan Young