Collecting with Interest - Alternative Investment
by Trisha Shannon
| 1 April, 2006 |
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Abridgment of an article in The Property Magazine on alternate investmentsThere is huge demand for Cape furniture, which does very well in the Herbert Baker homes of Johannesburg as well as in the Cape Dutch houses for which it was built. European antiques do still dominate the market though, just because there is never enough quality Cape furniture to go around (although there was also a thriving furniture business in the Pietermaritzburg in the 19th century). Even rarer is wonderful yellowwood and sneezewood (so called because the peppery oils it releases make carpenters sneeze) furniture that came out of what was then called Natal. Again, examples are hard to find, but you can bet it's worth something if you have one. Let's say you do have a few pieces of rare local cottage furniture in the kitchen and dining room. Set it all off with some highly collectible Cape silver if you can find it. The Old Corkscrew in Franschhoek in the Cape winelands claims to have the greatest variety of Cape silver available at the moment – about 80 pieces representing 60 per cent of the 70 known Cape silversmiths. It's mostly flatware but there are some lovely sculptural pieces among them, says owner Jeremy Astfalck, and its rarity ensures its investment value. Cape copper and brass also do very well, says Jeremy, but as the name of his shop suggests, the focus is on old corkscrews. He has an example of the first patented corkscrew, patented in 1795 by an English clergyman, which is selling for R45 000.' An American collector will probably fly over for it,' he says. Somewhat more affordable at R11 500, and a much more stunning conversation piece, is a German 'Gay Nineties' corkscrew, in the shape of stockinged legs that have to open for the operation. 'The Germans loved to shock the prim Victorians,' laughs Jeremy. The corkscrews came in sets of three, increasingly risqué, designs, as the stockings did a striptease, presumably making much merriment in men's drinking dens. 'When you have a really good bottle of wine,' says Jeremy, 'you don't want to open it with a common corkscrew!' |