At a staggering 46 seasons, BBC’s Antiques Roadshow is based around uncovering the stories held within the design objects we live with. Sounds like a bit of us. So as we enter the final month of The Chair at Objectspace, we’re hosting our own version at the gallery.

We’ll be joined by a handpicked panel of experts including academic and font of knowledge Linda Tyler, furniture restorer Jonathan Maze and Dan Eagle of Mr. Bigglesworthy for a Saturday of interesting furniture finds and (even more) chairs. Your host is exhibition curator and Objectspace Director, Kim Paton.

If you have a chair that’s a bit of a mystery, you can submit to present it to our judges by emailing us at info@objectspace.org.nz with the subject ‘Antiques Roadshow’. Guests/chairs will be selected ahead of the day, prioritising pieces with…

- An unknown/disputed maker
- A curiosity/great story
- Age/timeframe of design and making

All are welcome to swing by the gallery and watch things unfold from 11am – 1pm on Saturday 24 February 2024.

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Meet the experts:

Linda Tyler completed her PhD on 19th-century botanist and museum worker John Buchanan, and her MA on émigré architect Ernst Plischke, whom she met and interviewed in Vienna in 1984 on a trip funded by the New Zealand Institute of Architects. She is currently the Convenor of Museums and Cultural Heritage at the University of Auckland Waipapa Taumata Rau and an Associate Professor of Art History. As a curator, her recent projects include Tākiri, a 2019 art exhibition at the New Zealand Maritime Museum to commemorate the visit of the Endeavour to Aotearoa in 1769, and Sculpture in the Gardens, which will take place at the Auckland Botanic Gardens in 2024.

Jonathan Maze is an expert restorer and furniture conservator with over 25 years of experience working with wooden objects and Māori carvings. He based in Titirangi, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland but has worked on pieces from across Aotearoa. More recently Maze has moved into building and interior conservation. Maze says “The aim is always to preserve as much of the age and character of every item and use traditional methods and techniques as much as possible. Good restoration and conservation requires an understanding of the materials and techniques with which the piece was made.”

Dan and Emma Eagle are co-owners of furniture store Mr. Bigglesworthy. Established in 2011 and steered by a passion for mid-century modern aesthetics and material history, the store offers iconic pieces with national and international design heritage, alongside contemporary objects and furniture. Collecting and exhibiting pieces from Aotearoa design history, like those included in The Chair, has been a consistent thread for Mr. Bigglesworthy and has seen them place objects in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa as well as in important private collections.