8 Tips to identify Antiques

Want to know if your furniture is as old as you might think? Here are some tips to help you recognize an antique.

1. Patina

Jigsaw Name Puzzles

An old table will have a rich, gorgeous finish. Decades of polishing and exposure to the elements create patina. Check underneath a table. On an older table, the appearance of the wood will be much dissimilar underneath than on the top. The underside will be lighter because it has not been polished or had use. This is a clue to developed age.

2. Handmade

Look for handmade furniture. Old furniture was hand made by craftsmen. Watch for uneven carving; it indicates hand made workmanship. Engine made furniture has identical, exquisite carving. A set of chairs is great to check for it. If all the carving and information on all the chairs is authentically identical, it was Engine made, and not so old.

3. Veneer

Look for thick veneers on wood. Veneer has been used for hundreds of years and is not necessarily a bad thing. However, older veneer is thicker than contemporary veneer and it was glued onto wood. Newer veneers are very thin. contemporary manufacturing methods allow for thinner cuts. contemporary veneers are often glued onto particleboard or base woods.

4. Signature

Look for a maker's signature. Newer, mass-produced furniture would tend to be signed by a craftsman. A signature helps to date an item, resolve value and provide provenance.

5. Mortise-and-tenon Construction

Watch for construction methods, mortise-and-tenon is a method where two pieces of wood are cut like a jigsaw puzzle to fit together without nails or glue. This technique is used to compile the whole buildings of a piece. It denotes exquisite craftsmanship and helps to recognize an antique.

6. Locks

Look for locks fitted with brass keys on drawers, desks etc. Often the lock maker's name is clear. This name is a good reference point to resolve age and value.

7. Dovetail Joints

Dovetailing is a method of construction used to put together drawers, blanket boxes etc. It is also method where two pieces of wood are cut like a jigsaw puzzle to fit together without nails or glue handmade 18th century dovetails are large and uneven. Machine-made dovetails are thin and even.

8. Nails

Look for quadrate pegs and hand forged nails. Furniture made during 17th and 18th century used quadrate pegs. Hand forged nails also indicate an antique. You can tell hand forged nails because they are very irregular in size and shape. Looking construction with a Phillips screw should make you think that an item is not so old.

8 Tips to identify Antiques