Interesting Facts About Antiques

Collectors know the value of owning a good piece of antique. Most people who collect French antique mirrors for example, do not tend to use them to look at own reflection, but rather to add certain luxurious accent to the room. Owning a valuable antique mirror or other piece of antique, will add unique designing touch to the interior of your home. When browsing online for good antique mirrors Melbourne shops, make sure you do a thorough research on the pieces you want to buy.

Antiques, especially French antique mirrors have been a part of interior design for so long and have recently been popularized by many famous designers and celebrities. Maybe this is why antique mirrors Melbourne shops is one of the most searched phrase on the web. If you love collecting antiques and maybe already have nice collection, you’ll certainly be interested in the most interesting facts about antiques we have compiled for you.

• One of the most expensive antique ever auctioned is a Pinner Qing Dynasty Vase, sold for £53,000,000 in UK in 2010. it is believed that this vase dates to 1740 according to some experts.

• Believe it or not, the king of pop music, Michael Jackson, had a “secret” art collection that was valued at almost a billion dollars. His collection included all sorts of antiques furniture, French antique mirrors and porcelain figurines.

• King Henry VIII and France’s Renaissance King, Francis I, were collectors of precious mirrors that were literary worth their weight in gold. In 1683, a large Venetian antique mirror cost as much as a naval ship or a home of an aristocrat or 3 times more than the price of a painting by the legendary Rubens.

• Another expensive antique ever auctioned was the Emerald & Diamond Tiara that belonged to the wife of famous French Emperor Napoleon III. It was sold at Sotheby’s in May 2011. This tiara was first commissioned by the German prince, Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck for his second wife Katharina.

• If you plan on treasure hunting, make sure you visit antique mirrors Melbourne stores after lunchtime, because most antique mirror vendors spend their mornings at auctions and estate sales.

• Whether looking to buy French antique mirrors or other antiques, make sure you do it on Wednesday. Wednesday is the last day for selling old items and introducing new ones since most antique vendors spend weekends at actions, garage sells and other antique sales searching for new pieces. Thus, if you’d like new antique mirror at lower price, visit antique mirrors Melbourne stores on Wednesday.

• The lifelong masterpiece of Louis XV, the Mirror Gallery found in the Palace of Versailles is a magnificent room that has 306 huge mirrors that have never been seen before in the history of mankind. Every antique mirror was at the time considered luxury that only few could posses.

• Antique mirrors disappeared during the middle ages because the early Church considered mirrors as a symbol of sin and vanity. Pope John XII said, “The Devil can conceal himself in a phial or a mirror”.

• The first to fashion mirrors back in the 4000 BC, were the ancient Mexicans. Romans however improved their craft and introduced a rudimentary antique mirror made of glass with a metal backing in the 1st century, which had poor reflection but was better than a polished rock.

• Mirrors that have kept the original surface embellished with decorations such as gilded flowers and shells have been number one choice for mirror collectors. Therefore every antique mirror that has not been restored, repainted or re-gilded, is considered to be more valuable.