Every estate is unique, but most share a number of common components. Over decades of estate work, certain categories appear with remarkable consistency.
There is always furniture. It may be antique, mid-century, contemporary, or designer. It may be American, Scandinavian, Japanese, or from elsewhere. We have specialists across all traditions, with particular expertise in rare, exceptional, luxurious, or historically important pieces and complete sets.
Most estates include chandeliers-often crystal or Murano-as well as lamps by makers such as Tiffany, candelabra, and decorative candleholders.
Persian and French carpets, New England hooked rugs, Southwestern Navajo rugs, animal furs, and other valuable floor coverings are commonly found.
Few estates lack silver: flatware, tea and coffee services, salvers, candlesticks, and decorative silver objects.
Dinner services, vases, and decorative objects in porcelain, earthenware, and stoneware are standard components of most estates.
Most estates contain several clocks, and more often than not, they are antique.
In the UK, estates frequently include sporting shotguns and pairs of express rifles. In the US, a wide range of firearms is common.
Many estates contain hundreds-or thousands-of books, often forming private libraries that reflect the interests and pursuits of their owners.
Handbags, luggage, watches, and accessories are increasingly significant. With certain designer bags selling well into six figures, closets should never be overlooked.
Every estate includes objects valued purely for craftsmanship, materials, and beauty. The range is vast and often underestimated.
Paintings on walls, sculptures, bronzes, drawings, and prints-sometimes discreetly placed-are present in nearly all estates.
What people collect varies endlessly; the constant is that people collect. Collections are one of the defining features of estates.
Many estates contain letters, manuscripts, diaries, photographs, recordings, correspondence, and other personal documents. Sometimes these materials are private in nature; at other times they are of historical, artistic, scientific, or literary importance. In certain cases, the estate effectively holds an archive of significant value.
We appraise documents, archives, and intellectual property with particular care. In some estates, this material represents the most valuable component.
Our process is methodical and comprehensive:
You may choose to:
Your CPA or tax advisor will determine what is most advantageous for your situation.
We provide:
To begin, we need to know:
Sales strategy depends on the nature of each item or category. We select the method most likely to achieve the best result:
Our objective is always active, effective selling-not passive listing.