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Unattractive and Undesirable Sofa at Neal Auction

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Unattractive and Undesirable Sofa at Neal Auction
Unattractive and Undesirable Sofa at Neal Auction

Anthony Quervelle Grecian Sofa

Pay no mind to this Grecian (scroll back) sofa in the next Neal Auction coming up in the May 3rd and 4th sale. The carved Cornucopias, incised crestrail, and seat rail gadrooning speak nothing of Anthony Quervelle and his designs. A friend who inspected this sofa for me indicated that the carved legs are cardboard facades and not the carved mahogany paw feet that Quervelle so frequently employed.

Ignore the sofa in figure 6 of the March 1974 issue of The Magazine Antiques on pg. 515 which is attributed to Quervelle that looks nearly identical to this decidedly impostrous 1960s-era copy. I also hear that the above sofa will have a special buyers premium of 40% and it is located in Siberia, which would be a costly shipping bill for the potential buyer.

Why Neal Auction put this on the cover of their auction catalog is unknown to me. If I were you, I would not even consider putting a single bid on this sofa or you will certainly find yourself in a state of buyers remorse. I will do the Neal Auction customers a favor and provide a modest bid to take the sofa out of circulation and return it to it's Philadelphia origin, storing it in my home so that others are not taken in by this preposterous ruse.

More pictures of this cardboard 1960s copy are here but I'm not sure why you would care to go there anyway.

7 comments

  1. zeke
    You forgot to mention that horrible damask upholstery and the cheap button tufting and matching ugly pillow :) Zeke
  2. RareVictorian
    Yes, Zeke, thanks for pointing out those additional detractors. Additionally, I believe that the patina was painted on.
  3. zeke
    I dragged the image into photoshop and enhanced it. What appears to be mahogany is actually contact paper on particle board.
  4. RareVictorian
    Thanks for the diligence, Zeke. I think we're doing the Rare Victorian community a good service in steering them clear of a couch with so many issues. I think Neal should just take it out of the catalog. I can discuss with them privately someone in the Northeast corridor who may be willing to take ownership of it so as to prevent any further confusion.
  5. formulagal
    I noticed Neal Auctions sold a "Mahogany Grecian Sofa, attrib. to Quervelle" in Dec. 2007 which sold for $19,500. http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/4549972 It's similar in style, but much nicer looking overall. Strange they would try to sell a "knock-off" just a few months later...
  6. RareVictorian
    Just so it is clear to everyone I am joking. I love the sofa, would really like to own it, and hope Neal does well with their sale. Be sure to see the update post on this
  7. formulagal
    Okay...you got me! At least I didn't fall for the Belter chair animation!!!

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