Mantiques Modern

Profile

Dating from the Machine Age up through the mid-1970s, many of the art and antiques that fill this 4,000-square-foot store are distinctly masculine. Stocking the store on their trips throughout North America and Northern Europe, the three guys who buy for Mantiques net industrial artifacts that work well for domestic use, like steel factory shelving. They’re also big fans of fifties French designers such as Jean Prouvé, who simplified seating silhouettes, and Mathieu Mategot, who made his mark with perforated metal furniture, and they exalt seventies chrome furniture-maker Paul Evans, as well as Karl Springer, who is known for his adaptation of exotic skins. The furniture on display in the curio-filled space is complimented by Depression era art, lots of late-century lithographs, and eclectic decorative figures like fully articulated silver insects. Despite its name, Mantiques isn’t exclusively for wealthy Chelsea boys: The store’s regularly replenished stock of vintage luxury items—Hermès handbags, Dunhill lighters, Louis Vuitton trunks, and Jaeger Le Courte clocks—make excellent gifts for ladies, too. — Eve Gerber