MY LIFE IN TEN
Antiques dealer Max Rollitt reveals what matters to him
1. Thomas Chippendale is my design hero. As both cabinetmaker and interior designer he translated classical architecture into a look that was quintessentially English.
2. Mauny’s wallpaper 287C is a favourite of mine. It’s so lush, indulgent and joyful.
3. A design rule worth noting is to have something in a room that is out of character, recognising that nothing is completely perfect.
4. Apart from good coffee, the other everyday luxury I can’t do without is decent cutlery.
5. One shop I always enjoy visiting is Joshua Lumley in Kent for antique oriental and European rugs. He deals honourably and we share an aesthetic around colour, patination and the acceptable limits of wear.
6. A new design name I discovered recently is Vicky Lindo, a ceramicist who uses traditional forms but her ornamented pieces tell delightful contemporary tales.
7. The object I own that means a great deal to me is a cutlery tray circa 1880 stamped underneath by the maker, a woodcarver and lamplighter from Bristol.
8. A book I bought recently is 19th-century Fashion in Detail by Lucy Johnston. It’s a useful cross-reference to my own work.
9. Finding the Hall of Clestrain, a classical house in a remote part on Orkney, is a special memory. It’s derelict but has been bought by the John Rae Society with plans to restore it.
10. If I hadn’t diverted to antiques and design I’d have been a psychotherapist: now I call it client management!