Mid century homeware in Sweden: 666 adverts

What this category actually holds

Seekuro has 666 live furniture adverts from Sweden, and the word furniture is misleading. Sofas and wardrobes are the exception here. What this category really contains is the smaller end of the home: lighting, ceramics, textiles, brass fittings and decorative objects, much of it mid century and much of it with a name attached.

The current adverts show the shape of it. Lighting: a glass table lamp base, an orange Po Ström Alsterfors table lamp from the sixties or seventies. Ceramics and glass: a yellow Moomin mug from Arabia made between 1991 and 1996, a porcelain wall relief of a mallard from the 1950s, an alabaster grape cluster. Textiles: a hand embroidered cotton wall hanging from the fifties or sixties, a Christmas blanket from Indiska. Fittings and restoration parts: a large round brass door and drawer knob for building restoration. And the occasional designer piece, such as a vintage Gucci monogram leather tote.

It all comes from Tradera, the auction marketplace, which is why it reads like the contents of a well kept Swedish home rather than a furniture showroom.

What it costs

Asking prices run from about 19 to 2,799 Swedish crowns, with the middle at 275.

Under 50 crowns are the everyday pieces: a single knob, a blanket, an unremarkable lamp base. Around the 275 crown middle you are buying a decent mid century object in good condition, a marked ceramic piece or a working retro lamp. Towards the top, up to 2,799 crowns, sit the named pieces: Arabia Moomin mugs from a discontinued run, recognised Swedish glass and ceramics, designer leather, and complete sets rather than single items.

The Moomin mugs are worth knowing about specifically. Arabia produced them in dated series, and a mug from a short production window is worth several times one that is still made.

Marks, dates and why they decide the price

In this category the price lives on the base of the object, not in the photograph of the front.

Always ask for a photograph of the underside. Swedish and Finnish ceramics and glass carry maker marks, designer initials, model numbers and often a date code. Arabia, Gustavsberg, Rörstrand, Alsterfors and Gantofta all mark their work, and the difference between a marked and an unmarked piece can be the whole value.

Ask what the mark says, in full, including anything stamped or painted that the seller cannot identify. Sellers routinely undersell pieces because they did not know what they had.

For lighting, ask whether it has been rewired, and when. A sixties lamp with its original cloth cord is charming and is also a thing you should not plug in. Ask for a photograph of the plug and the cord near the base.

For textiles, ask about fading along one edge, which is sun damage, and about moth holes in wool.

Checking condition before you commit

Ask the seller to run a finger around every rim, edge and foot and describe what they feel. Hairline cracks and tiny chips do not photograph, and they are the most common dispute in this category.

Ask directly: any chips, any cracks, any restoration, any crazing. Crazing is the fine network of lines in a glaze, and on some pieces it is acceptable age and on others it halves the value.

For brass and metal fittings, ask whether they have been polished or lacquered. Stripping old lacquer is work, and a restorer often wants the original patina rather than a shined up piece.

For anything with a lid, a stopper or a pair, ask whether both parts are original to each other.

Writing the advert

Put the maker, the model or pattern, and the period in the title. "Arabia Moomin mug yellow 1991-96" is searched for by name. "Mug" is not.

Photograph the base. It is the single most useful picture in this category and the most commonly missing one. Then the front, the back, the inside, and a close photograph of every flaw.

Give the dimensions in centimetres. Height, width, and depth or diameter. A lamp, a bowl and a wall relief are all bought for a particular space and the buyer cannot judge scale from a photograph.

Say what you know about where it came from and do not guess. "Bought at an estate sale in Småland, no mark on the base" is a better advert than a confident attribution that turns out wrong.

Because Seekuro publishes your advert in six languages, a Swedish or Finnish maker's mark becomes findable by collectors in Germany, Finland, Norway and Spain, and for mid century Nordic design that is where a good share of the demand sits.

Packing and delivery

This is a fragile category, and packing is where sales go wrong after the money has changed hands.

Ceramics and glass need double boxing: wrap the item, put it in a box with filling on every side, then put that box inside a larger one with more filling. Nothing should touch an outer wall. Wrap lids and loose parts separately so they cannot knock against the body.

Lamps travel badly. Remove the shade and the bulb, pack them separately, and coil the cord loosely rather than wrapping it tight around the base.

For heavy or awkward pieces, collection in person is usually the sensible answer, and much of this category is sold that way within Sweden.

Agree the packing method before agreeing the price for anything fragile and valuable. A seller who has never posted ceramics should know that you expect double boxing, and should price the postage accordingly.