Description
Royal House Antiques
Royal House Antiques is delighted to offer for sale one of two, very rare and important original 1969 David Hicks Paire De Canapes, Vers sofas in the original ticking fabric
Please note the delivery fee listed is just a guide, it covers within the M25 only for the UK and local Europe only for international, if you would like an accurate quote, please send me your postcode and I’ll provide you with the exact price.
What a find! The last examples of these sofas came up in auction with Christies in April of 2018, the larger sofa sold for £16,250 plus 33% commission and the pair of armchairs a respectable £8,125 plus commission
This sale is for one sofa, the second example is listed under other items and not included in this sale
These are the finest quality, rivalled only to the original Howard & Son’s in my opinion, they are simply put the most comfortable and stylish sofas you will ever sit on
The sofa retains all the original features, the coil sprung base, the factory ticking fabric all over, the hessian base cover, feather filled cushions and so on, these will be the most original examples anywhere in the world for sale today
This sofa is a must have for any fine English furniture connoisseur, it screams country house style charm and charisma. Howard & Son’s are simply put the finest chair makers in history, the Queen even has a private collection.
Condition wise, considering the fabric is 54 years old and a light colour, its actually pretty exceptional, there are some light marks as you can see to a couple of the cushions and the upholstery is a little, some general discoloration and very lightly frayed around the edges, honestly for the age though these are classed as super fine order!
David Nightingale Hicks, the great English decorator, started his career in interior design in 1954, after his mother’s London house was successfully publicised in House & Garden magazine. He became the most wanted interior designer in London immediately after and revolutionised interior design in the 60s and 70s.
Without doubt, he was the most famous British designer of his day and probably is still today. He was the rebellious prince of English decor, who broke away from the traditional English style with his bold geometric prints, adventurous colour combinations and eclectic mix of antique and contemporary furnishings. In his own words, “ (his) greatest contribution as an interior designer has been to show people how to use bold color mixtures, how to use patterned carpets, how to light rooms, and how to mix old with new.” The English were blown away by his unexpected and quirky look and his daring style became associated with modernity and fun-loving hedonism, also-known-as the ‘Swinging Sixties’.
No wallpaper, fabric or carpet was good enough for Hicks’s taste so he started designing and producing his own products, all of which stayed iconic until this day. 16 years after his debut, he became one of the most famous and sought after interior designers in the world and opened offices and boutiques in eight different countries.
One of his speciality was bedroom interiors with his unique and spectacular canopy beds. As opposed to traditional canopy beds with bedposts, Hicks’s bed canopy and curtains were attached directly to the ceiling, resulting in interior masterpieces. He crowned his masterpieces with strong colour combinations and bold patterns, solidifying the Hicks look throughout the house.
He advocated “the more shades of a particular colour you put together the better the result will be” and proved his point with many successful design projects over the years including the Long Room at his own house in Oxford.
In addition to his undeniable talent, he had a massive ego and self-confidence, to the point that he revealed his favourite decorator was himself – can anyone blame him? I mean he is still one of the greatest interior decorators and his patterned carpets and fabrics are still going strong today.
Fun fact: He worked as an art teacher in the British army before starting his career in interior design and he was the one who introduced the term ‘tablescapes’ – carefully arranged compositions of objects and artworks.
Dimensions
Height:- 82cm
Width:- 183.5cm
Depth:- 95cm
Seat Height:- 53cm
Please note all measurements are taken at the widest point, if you would like any additional or specific measurements please ask
Any questions please feel free to ask before you bid.
ABOUT US
Royal House Antiques is a privately owned family ran business founded in Wimbledon SW19 and now based in Pulborough RH20. We specialise in finding, restoring very fine luxury antique leather seating, along with every single other type of antique ranging from the 16th century to the 20th century. We also stock a number of designer brands such as Fritz Hansen, Ralph Lauren, Cavalli, Charles & Ray Eames, Vitra, David Linley, Rolex, Tiffany, Jager Le Coulter and so on
PAYMENTS
We accept payment via Bitcoin, Bitcoin cash, Ethereum, Bacs, Chaps, PayPal or Card, we would kindly ask that all items are paid for within 48 hours and collected within 7 working days, we can hold all paid items for 14 days free of charge, there after a £20 a week storage fee will apply. We have long term storage which is very economically priced, we are happy to hold stock for as long as needed providing it is arranged prior to the purchase
If sold items aren’t collected within three months and no arrangements have been made for long term storage you will forfeit the item and payment
CONDITION
Please view the very detailed pictures as they form part of the description pertaining to the condition. Please also ask any questions before you bid and not after, all of our items are sold as seen and as listed
Royal House Antiques cannot be held liable for any independent assumptions made regarding the items we sell, if you are unsure on any point, please feel free to ask for clarity
Please note vintage period and original items such as leather seating will always have natural patina in the form of creasing and wear, we recommend annual waxing to ensure no moisture is lost, also hand dyed leather is not recommended to sit in direct sunlight for prolonged periods of time as it will dry out and fade
DELIVERY OR COLLECTION
This item is available for collection from our Pulborough warehouses RH20-1DF by appointment only, alternatively we can have it delivered nationwide to include Scotland, Wales and Ireland for a fee
Please contact me via email, alternatively my contact information is under the business seller section of the listing, with your postcode for a delivery quotation, as mentioned above the fee listed covers with the M25 for the UK, for international deliveries the amount listed covers local Europe only so parts of Belgium and France
Please be sure to include which item you would like to buy as the price is determined on size and distance, if you would like more than one piece of furniture the courier offers a substantial discount on the second and third item, for international shipping please view the below information
COURIER, LARGE ITEMS ONLY THAT CAN’T BE POSTED
We can arrange delivery nationwide, mostly with our nominated couriers, for Europe we use one reasonably priced professional company that we trust, for the rest of the world we use international shippers that can send any size item crated via air freight within 7-14 days after crating or soft packed and container shipped via sea freight within 30-60 days. The time frames outlined are guides only, non-domestic shipping is almost entirely governed by the airlines, sea freight loading times and custom clearances
Whomever delivers will always require help on the larger items to unload, the price you will be quoted will always be based on this assumption, if this is not possible, please let us know as it will affect the price to send a two-person team
Delivery is to the ground floor only, again if you need help upstairs or in flats etc that’s absolutely not a problem, the couriers charge £10-£20 per flight per man per item, if you have a working elevator then naturally there’s no additional fee
All courier fees are paid by yourself directly to the courier company, the contract for delivery is between yourselves the client and whichever courier you chose from those available I’m happy to accommodate your own courier after a cleared payment has been received, they need to book in a collection time with at least 24 hours notice, all collections must be made within 14 working days of the close of the sale unless agreed by prior arrangement
IMPORT DUTY
Most countries charge some kind of import duty however almost all of our items won’t incur any charges as the items are exempt from tax due to the age and materials used
For European deliveries the price you will be quoted will include all clearance documentation and any customs charges so there won’t be any additional fees
For international deliveries such as the United States there can be some import duty to pay and or a clearance fee, I would estimate that 99% of all deliveries clear customs without being stopped for either
All duties are the responsibility of the purchaser who is the importer, they can’t be covered by the seller or shipping agent or factored in with additional retrospective discounts
RETURNS
Royal House Antiques offers a no quibble return policy if the item is not as described, if there are any issues with the piece you will be refunded in full once the item has been returned and inspected within 14 days, alternatively if there is a small issue, we can discuss finding a mutual resolution that makes all parties happy
We don’t offer a sale on approval service which means you can purchase the item, have it delivered and if you simply don’t like it, return it, this comes under change of mind or doesn’t fit. There is a lot of time, money and work involved in transporting goods around the world, the costs incurred can be vast so my advice would be if you are unsure on a piece please ask as many questions as you like to make sure you understand everything before you buy, if you are still unsure then please either arrange a viewing in person or if that’s not possible then don’t buy from an online retailer, perhaps look for a local gallery instead
