FOUNDERS OF ROME

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FOUNDERS OF ROME

Along with Statuary, busts, plinths etc, we are Importers of French and Italian Antiques, furniture, wrought iron, homewares and more.

A passionate & experienced Mother & daughter team, importing handpicked antiques from France & Italy, procuring for client projects, & bespoke buying tours.
🇫🇷Paris, Provence, 🇮🇹Tuscany & more | shipping & logistics worldwide🌎| Retail & Trade Anne Martin, original Co-Founder of Phoenix Italia, Palazzo Roma and Karaka Point Vineyard & Lodge travels the world to bring home that 'special piece of Eu

rope' for you to use in your home and/or business. We can help you create exceptional interiors with classic taste and a unique flare with a strong European influence, in both residential and commercial spaces.

30/05/2026

New Arrival from Italy

Italian Rococo Revival bedside tables with exceptional Rosso marble tops, elegant bombe shaping and finely carved detail.

A beautiful balance of refinement and character.

59cm W × 37cm D × 71cm H

14/05/2026

Sometimes something hidden in plain sight reveals a fascinating history.

What first appeared to be a beautiful pair of early 20th century French riding boots quickly became something far more interesting.

Inside the shaft was the stamp:

W. Bennett & Co
Bottiers Anglais
86 Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Paris. W. Bennett & Co, “Bottiers Anglais”, located on Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris — a prestigious address associated with high-end bespoke craftsmanship.

Why this matters is that it places the boots firmly within the right period, location and level of quality associated with the expedition material we were shown alongside them.

While viewing the boots in France, we were also shown archival images and material relating to the Citroën expeditions of the 1920s and 30s, including photographs of Louis Audouin-Dubreuil and expedition members wearing remarkably similar boots.

We are now carefully researching and piecing together the provenance — verifying what we know, and what we suspect.

These will be heading to auction rather than appearing on our website. Direct message us with interest. The story will continue to unfold!

08/05/2026

Before they were decorative, they were necessary. We love antiques in all forms… but when you see something that had a real life, purpose and pure craftsmanship…it holds a beauty we can’t help but reimagine.

Here are a few of these pieces from France and Italy. Now online.

Forged for fire
Made to move bread fire to table.
To speak or play from.
Hand crafted and glazed to serve
Welded and painted to serve workers in the factories and farms.

What we love most about these pieces is that their beauty was never the point.

The proportions came from function.
The patina came from use.
The character came from time.

Now, removed from their original context, they become something else entirely — sculptural objects with extraordinary presence.

Utility to art.

New arrivals now online.

antiques

28/04/2026

This is not a light. This is theatre!

This Mid-Century Italian Painted & Gilt Chandelier with its shades of Neo-Baroque & Florentine flair had us holding our breath, as our collector Frank precariously balanced on a wobbly ladder to bring her down to us in one gorgeous piece.

Instant Amore. Sold. She’s ours… or is she yours?

How would you place this artful illumination?

Please add some ideas to our list!

• Low over a long dining table — linen, timber, a little tension
• In a moody library — layered, unexpected, dramatic
• In a walk-in wardrobe — because why not make getting dressed an event! Outside in your loggia for alfresco nights

Coming soon to web. DM for info if you can’t wait.

21/04/2026

I stood guard over this beauty in the hot French sun while tracking Mum down for opinion (and euros)… naturally found at the champagne bar.

We saddled up this beautiful vintage Italian Rocking Horse, rehydrated, and decided she was coming home with us.

Hand-carved timber with worn gilt detail, beautifully aged with a patina only time can create.

Trot over to the online listing to find out all about her and discover styling ideas for such a striking and unique piece.

Still thinking of a name — ideas welcome!
Now ready for her next home. See new & noteworthy section online.

17/04/2026

A French 19th century dough table, cut down to coffee table height, retaining the deep dough trough. Patina of chocolate and honey deeply compressed into the wood grain just glows with a richness only time achieves.

Originally built for daily use in provincial kitchens, this piece carries the marks of that life — hand-worked timber, a deep trough, and a surface worn into something far more interesting than anything new.

Now reimagined as a centrepiece. Functional, sculptural, and entirely one of one.

Available online.

13/04/2026

As seen in Verve.

We’re thrilled to be featured in the April issue—long a favourite read of ours—for its considered take on the world of antiques… in NZ!

Our piece, “The Language of Antiques,” sits alongside a thoughtful line-up of experts, from valuation and restoration to upholstery and the art of buying well.

There is more to antiques than first meets the eye—part art, part craftsmanship, part memory. Unique, storied, and endlessly varied in style, price, and provenance, they become heirlooms not just through value, but through the meaning we attach to them.

If you can, we highly recommend picking up a copy of the April issue.

Thank you to Verve Magazine for including us in such good company.

Side note…
your antique jewellery is absolutely stunning ❤️

09/04/2026

A real mix of style is in this fresh drop of antique and vintage ceramics. Classic, quirky, ornate or rustic… enjoy the browse x👀😍

Plates worthy of a place on the wall — not tucked away.
Pots made for centre stage — not background filler.

French confit and grain pots, Italian pieces, time-worn glazes, imperfect rims. The kind of details you can’t fake.

Each one different. No repeats.

Now live.

05/04/2026

A hand picked mix of antique confit pots, cruche, grain vessels and vintage kitchen forms — sourced for their shape, glaze, age and patina.

Launching now, just in time for our members-only Easter offer.

Sign up to receive the code today, ends tonight at the stoke of midnight 🕛 go to comments for link.

Address

Auckland

Website

http://www.foundersofrome.co.nz/, http://eepurl.com/dLDiUk

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