Duncan Phyfe Furniture

by Dr. Lori Verderame

There are Duncan Phyfe originals and Duncan Phyfe reproductions. Duncan Phyfe (1768-1854) was a late 18th Century/early 19th Century craftsman who produced traditional style furniture. Duncan Phyfe furniture has a classic design and is typically produced in hardwoods with original brass hardware consistent with the designs of the early 1900s.

Identifying Duncan Phyfe furniture

While Eastlake furniture was a popular style in the late 19th century, Duncan Phyfe furniture designs are based on what was popular and fashionable in Europe in the late 1700s and early 1800s. European furniture designs informed the look of Duncan Phyfe furniture. Duncan Phyfe became the premiere name in furniture design in New York during this time period. Based on fancy furniture popular in France and England with clean lines, raised panel doors, drawers, classical hardware, ample storage, etc., Duncan Phyfe furniture demonstrated traits such as delicate chairs with thin, tapered legs and upholstered or cushioned seats and library, hall, and gaming tables which expanded on hinges to reveal leaves and lyre-back settees based on the form of an ancient Greek stringed musical instrument which resembled a harp.

Unlike Thonet furniture which is known for its curved style and forms, Duncan Phyfe style pieces of furniture are recognizable for their straight lines. Most pieces were made out of hard woods such as walnut and mahogany. Duncan Phyfe can be manufactured in walnut and mahogany along with other solid hardwoods. Designs are varied. On the backs of dining room chairs, Duncan Phyfe chairs may have shield backs, crosses or Xs, ladder backs, etc. A Duncan Phyfe dining chair typical feature reeded legs or arms, upholstered seats, and a straight crest rail. When it comes to refinishing antique furniture, these tips will help you retain a piece’s value. If you want to refinish, restore, or conserve a piece of Dunan Phyfe furniture, it is a very good idea to learn if your piece was designed by Duncan Phyfe or if your piece was a reproduction made in the early 1900s for the masses.

Values for Duncan Phyfe furniture

An original wooden table by Duncan Phyfe would be worth in the $50,000 to $150,000 range on the antiques market, today. For instance, recently, an original carved mahogany dining table by Duncan Phyfe from circa 1815 measuring 30 inches in height sold for $132,000.

Along with the popular 19th century furniture designs of George Hepplewhite and Sheraton, Duncan Phyfe designs have been in a position of collectibility for more than a century. Duncan Phyfe furniture was highly collected in the Federal period and later, in the 1930s to the 1950s, too. Reproduction Duncan Phyfe furniture–the furniture your grandmother owned in the era following World War II–has the same stylish and elegant look as the original Duncan Phyfe pieces. These reproductions have held their value well. For example, a vintage dining room set by Duncan Phyfe dating from the early to mid 1900s regularly sell for thousands of dollars. Do you have an original or reproduction?

Many furniture makers worked in the manner of the late 18th Century craftsman, Duncan Phyfe. Think of it this way—it’s like contemporary singer Michael Buble singing in the style of Frank Sinatra. Buble sings like Sinatra, but he’s not Sinatra!  Similarly, therevival of the Duncan Phyfe style is seen in furniture designs in the early decades of the 1900s. It is common that such pieces have come to be known as simply “Duncan Phyfe” even thought these early 20th century pieces are not authentic Duncan Phyfe pieces. They are merely designed and manufactured in the Duncan Phyfe style.
As you probably guessed, there is a big value or monetary difference between authentic Duncan Phyfe furniture and Duncan Phyfe style furniture.

Duncan Phyfe (1768-1854) was best known for the straight lines and classical look of his furniture carved in rich hard woods like mahogany and walnut. Values for an original Duncan Phyfe table range from $50,000 to $250,000 depending on many factors. That value is based on actual sales record where somebody actually paid cash, swiped a credit card, or wrote a check for that amount. It is not a price or auction estimate. The values that I provide are based on an actual amount that someone paid for an antique or vintage piece. For instance, a carved mahogany dining table by Duncan Phyfe dating to 1815 measuring 30 inches tall recently sold for $132,000. That’s actually what someone paid for it. That’s the value you need to know when assessing value.

If you were to put a retail value on a typical, six piece Duncan Phyfe style dining room set like those your elderly aunts and uncles may have used to serve dinner on during the 1940s or 1950s, then the retail value for such a set is significantly different from that of an original Duncan Phyfe set from the late 1800s. Usually such vintage Phyfe style sets in good condition from the mid 1900s are worth $700 to $2,000 on the retail market. What do I mean by the retail market? That’s the price you would pay if you went to a retailer and bought a dining room set like your set, with its current condition factored in. Don’t be confused –original means original but “style” may mean that you have a reproduction or something else.

Request an online appraisal of your Duncan Phyfe furniture from Dr. Lori.