Shops: Queen's Key Antiques

1086 1/2 Queen Street West, Toronto
416.537.8282, Tues – Sat 1 – 8 pm, Sun 1 – 4 pm

After Saturday’s item about the tortoise shell it occurred to me that I really should post about the shop where I bought it. Queen’s Key Antiques is a quirky little store with a focus on antique and vintage lighting but there’s really no telling what you’ll find there: an African wood carving, below right ($25), a gilt Church altar, below left ($150) or a 30-foot Anaconda skin (not shown, $100). I purchased the ornate, gold, Chinese window screen there a few years ago for $40, above.

The inventory may be all over the map but the prices are consistently good . . .

The ornate black lacquer and gilt chandelier above is $1,500 although some polite negotiation would probably knock the price down a bit. The piece has style to burn and measures at least three feet across. The Moderne glass and metal pendant in the upper right corner is contemporary and is priced at just $90.

There’s lots of church-y items at Queen’s Key like the Gothic lanterns below: the piece at left is a sconce cover ($50), the pendant, centre, is $325 and the one at right is $425. The polychrome cherub holding the orange bulb is $250.

I loved the mirrors below, especially the long, tall one on the left, priced at $85; the one below right is $95. Whenever I’m in west Queen West I make a point of stopping in at Queen’s Key for a quick look around — sometimes, as with last week’s turtle shell, the visit pays off in spades.