I acquired this goatskin-covered lacquered thing from a family friend. No signature or initials, but beautiful and in immaculate condition. does anybody know anything about this? How can I tell if it's a Springer or not? Is it worth anything if it's not? Who would knock something like this off? It's old - the guy I got it from is extremely wealthy and paid a lot of $ for it some years ago, so I know it's worth something. Anyhow, and insight would be much appreciated.
MANY people knocked off...
MANY people knocked off Springer's designs including parchment/goat skin pieces, the teselated bone and even the more exotic skins such as shagrin and python. Most of the Springer pieces were unmarked but some bear Karl springer metal plates and other have incised date stamps which help identification. There are certain design features and materials that can help authenticate a Springer piece such as the wood underneath a table top, the manner in which it is assembled, etc...but its tough
High quality companies such as Harrison Van Horn (distributed to the trade at the California Design Center), and people like Ron Seff "appropriated" many of his materials and designs....thus suthentication of Springer pieces proves difficult unless it is an iconic design such as his python telephone tables or octagonal mirrors.
Evan Lobel at Lobel Modern in NYC sells many authentic Springer pieces and could be helpful in verifying that a piece is truely Springer
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