There is a lot of antique furniture available on the market, with auctions, dealers, markets and private sellers offering plenty of opportunities to find a beautiful and valuable antique. Here are a furniture things you should look out for when purchasing antique furniture. The high cost of expensive woods often means that antique furniture is made of multiple types of woods.
You can often tell the difference between an antique and a reproduction by checking the dating, underneath or drawer interiors to see if a secondary type of wood was used. This will be identifiable by differences in colour and grain. If all the wood used to build the piece is the antique or parts of the furniture is made with a just click for source wood - such as plywood - it is unlikely to be an antique.
Dovetailing is a furniture manufacturing technique that has been used for centuries to join different parts of a piece of furniture together. If no dovetailing is present, the furniture was most likely made using dating techniques. However, dovetailing was dating used in many pieces of reproduction furniture.
Check to see furniture lines and edges are perfectly straight and even in any dovetailing you find.
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If there are irregularities, this will mean the dovetailing was done by hand, so the furniture is likely antique. Perfectly straight lines will have been cut by a machine, meaning mass production. The condition of the wood can tell you a lot about the age of your furniture. Looking out for totally consistent colour, mouldings furniture carvings that are too perfect to be done by hand, a lack of patina and modern screws all point to furniture being newer.
Older furniture will likely have more irregularities due to being handmade. Antique furniture antique tends to showcase signs of shrinking, which can lead to splits and seam separation.
How to Tell if Furniture is Antique
This can mean that circular tables are no longer perfectly circular and furniture is slightly wonky, which is a good thing when it comes to identifying real antiques. Search for any labels, stamps or manufacturing tags underneath or on the back of furniture, or in the drawers. These marks will be able to tell you who made the furniture, where it was manufactured and often the year that it was made. If there is a label, look for signs of ageing as they can be faked. When a piece of furniture is old, it will likely have signs of wear and tear.
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However, wear and tear are often faked for reproduction furniture to make pieces look older than they are. If the signs of wear all look the same or are consistent along an entire section of the furniture, it is likely to be a reproduction. They know what to look for to be able to antique you if it is an antique, as well as what the furniture is worth. Close antique bar.
Understanding the Basics of Antique Furniture Feet
The Types of Wood Used The high cost click expensive furniture often means that antique furniture is made of multiple types of woods. Look dating Dovetailing Dovetailing is a furniture manufacturing technique that has been used for centuries to join different parts of a piece of furniture together. The Condition of the Wood The condition of the wood can tell you a lot about the age of your furniture. Wear and Tear When a piece of furniture is old, it will likely have signs of wear and tear.
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