If Sotheby's Uses #InteriorInspo to Exhibit Art and Antiques, Shouldn't All Dealers?
sotheby's living florence knoll chairs
It's been building for some time now. Vendors of all sorts of home furnishings have been using a "shop the room" tool for selling their merchandise. The entire Domino magazine is predicated on this theory, design power house Kravet has created the "Curated Kravet" platform with it in mind, the online magazine Adorno is rich with interior inspiration and products to match, and who hasn't been drawn in by the beautifully styled scenes published by One Kings Lane. Most of the product available on these sites are items made today.
So what's so unusual about venerable auction house Sotheby's creating vignettes of items for sale in a similar way?
Sotheby's (which was founded in 1744!) isn't selling new merchandise. It's wares are exclusively one of a kind art and antiques. In the past, an exhibition at Sotheby's was arranged much like a museum exhibition focusing on a single collecting genre, and many of their sales continue to be grouped this way. Not so with Sotheby's recent Contemporary Living Sale (and last April's Sotheby's Show House), both of which included several collecting types: art, photographs, furnishings and accessories.
For the Contemporary Living Sale, the exhibition was set up in alluring vignettes to show buyers just how to put beautiful antiques and art together. And what was especially nice about this sale is that most lots were quite affordable.
All vendors of vintage and antique furniture and art (both online and off) should sit up and take notice. In a recent post I did for The High Boy, I used their product to show readers how to shop popular show house rooms. The post drew a lot of attention in my social media channels.
In my humble opinion, curating a room scene is a way to give a strong injection into the art and antiques market. If I were a dealer, I would rapidly be fashioning and photographing room vignettes with my products.
sotheby's living credenza
Take a look at some of the charming vignettes I spotted at Sotheby's Contemporary Living Sale. What do you think of this using method to attract buyers?
sotheby's living-art and lamps
sothebys-lightolier
sotheby's living-long john bench
sotheby's living-sofa
sotheby's living-art with face
sotheby's living hans wegner chair
sotheby's living coffee table
All photographs by Lynn Byrne taken at the exhibition for Sotheby's Contemporary Living Sale held on July 22, 2015. Please comment if you want to know to more about the pieces shown.