As early as the end of the 90s, a decline in interest in everything that represented antiques began to be recorded, especially for period furnishings and objects "with a taste of bourgeois recognition". This happened for a number of reasons, the first, as a consequence of an over-evaluation beyond the real value of the object that characterized the market trend of the 80s and 90s, where the good of any era and shape that "became fashionable" was disputed between several people with a consequent increase in the its sale value, The second one, for a lifestyle change that was beginning to transform society, and finally because that asset no longer represented a reason for social position.
The society from "modern" lover of the classic has slowly transformed into "contemporary" preferring a new image no longer tied to prefigured schemes, but rather, capable of innovating by building its own new "style". In this social context for condition sine qua non, The antique objects and furnishings could no longer represent a status.
Today, living spaces have shrunk and furnishings shouldn't pose any problems if at any time you decide to move house. In a society like ours, important furnishings can seem demanding, which is why they have been replaced by other valuables such as a luxury car or an important watch that may have belonged to some "celebrity", just look at the results of the latest international auctions of Sotheby's or Christie's.
A premise or trend that has seen many auction houses downsize and close the classic antiques department, keeping only the specialist area of rare paintings, drawings and objects. Italy has perhaps experienced this "suffering" more than other countries, also for more contingent reasons, (in primis) the economic crisis it has gone through in recent years and then a whole series of bureaucratic difficulties which often accompany the desire to sell or buy a work of ancient art. And this is how there is a decline in interest in the objects presented in the catalog by auction houses, sometimes unsold or if purchased with lowest-estimate awards.
In all of this, however, we must exclude all those works of historical value, attributable to the "High Antiques" segment, i.e. everything that goes into something unique, can be a piece of furniture such as an ancient painting, preferably Old Master, where we register a very strong demand coming from all over the world, thanks to an expanding market linked to the new "scrooges" from China, Russia or the Orient.
The confirmation that high-end antiques is not experiencing any crisis comes from Tefaf, the fair held in Maastrich every year in March and which brings together the best international galleries with the best works of art and antiques. An almost cult place for collectors from all over the world, who arrive in the beautiful Dutch town already aware of finding works of extraordinary beauty and often accompanied by staggering prices.
Therefore I would not speak of an antiques crisis, but of a moment in a time interval, which is already revising the concept and value of the "ancient work" in its real and concrete meaning, with a greater selection of works, objects which, in order to enter on the market they will have to be of high quality and no longer attributable to that "old goods" which for years was overvalued only due to excessive and unfounded demand and which today registers a loss of over 30%. However, it remains difficult to imagine what the future will be like, it is certain that history teaches us: crises and epochal changes have never destroyed either the meaning or the beauty of art.
