The father-and-son team behind Pearse Lukies, whose Norfolk-based showroom is an Aladdin’s cave of antique treasures, reveal an exciting new chapter for their business
PEARSE LUKIES
“ Dealing in antiques has always been about the thrill of the chase,” explains Morgan Lukies, who, with his father, Pearse, runs the eponymous Norfolk-based antiques company Pearse Lukies. “We are searching for the extraordinary, the rare and the beautiful.”
This flair for finding antique treasures clearly runs in the blood, as Morgan, who joined the company in 2011, clearly gets the same thrill from his work as his father. “My dad has taught me how to look at an object and how to understand it,” Morgan says. “People often ask how a dealer knows whether something is period or by a certain maker. In reality it’s a mixture of both knowledge and instinct, developed by looking and handling thousands of objects, both good and bad.”
It will come as no surprise then that Pearse’s expertise was hard-earned during a 50-year career that saw him begin selling antiques as a child. His first business venture was dealing in Georgian tea caddies, before moving into selling furniture and early English oak. At 18, once school was done, he decided to formally set up his business – a decision which was to prove a shrewd one – as it continues to go from strength to strength to this day. The company specialises in everything from furniture and architectural antiques to paintings, oriental porcelain, sculpture and works of art from the early medieval through to the 19th century, with an emphasis on Georgian and Continental furniture.
Having worked in the trade for so long, the Lukies see the same familiar faces on the circuit. As Morgan says, “It’s a rich tapestry of characters, with a shared enthusiasm. You are constantly learning from each other, so it keeps the job exciting.” Of course, it is not all camaraderie, as one moment everyone is socialising, the next they are
