Antique ornately carved desk and chair

These are Victorian Gothic/Baroque Revival pieces, the production of such pieces began during the 1840's, and as "Church furniture" well into the 20th Century. They tend to be a hodgepodge of 15th to 17th Century European styles which makes dating them confusing for Novice collectors.

The chair itself is whats called a "Hall Chair", These chairs, as their name suggests, were used in the front halls of large Victorian homes, or as decorative chairs between Pier mirrors in hallways. Like the larger Hall Seats, these were used to facilitate the putting on or removal of shoes,

Generally these chairs were made in pairs, which were often broken up as inheritances or when sold at Estate auctions. In today's market demand for these chairs, and Victorian furniture in general, is in a period of decline after peaking in the 1990's. Currently, on average comparable early VictorianHall Chairs sell in the $200.00- $400.00 range.

The other piece had a number of uses, they were based on lecterns, used to give speeches/sermons from, or used by Maitre d's to direct customers to their seats at expensive restaurants ;~) As for value it's very hard to say in this market, a lot depends on whose in the crowd at the auction, I've seen similar pieces go for over $1500.00 and under $200.00.

Lovejoy