An antique's pattern of wear-and-tear can reveal much about its authenticity.
Telling an antique from a replica --- which is considered an antique if it is more than 100 years old --- is as much an art as it is a science. You have to know what to look for and the right questions to ask. It helps if you are working with a knowledgeable antiques dealer. But your best tool in distinguishing between an antique and a reproduction is a keen eye that can spot the clues that reference the materials and manufacturing processes used during a particular era. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Examine the materials. Be skeptical of an object made using one type of wood. Antiques typically use cheaper woods, such as pine, in places that aren't visible. Reproductions are more likely to use one type of wood for the entire piece, heavily staining cheaper wood to hide its low quality. Upholstery stuffing can also shed light on the authenticity of a piece. Horse hair and hay were used to stuff furniture until the 1920s, when synthetics took over. Keep in mind that the original stuffing of an antique may have been replaced with a synthetic. But because it is no longer in its original condition, its value could be reduced.
2. Look for signs of wear-and-tear that you would expect from years of use. An antique chair, for example, will show more signs of wear at the end of the arm rests where the hands would lay. If the wear of the piece is uniform throughout, it may have been artificially distressed. Time takes its toll on wood, too. It's common for antique wood to have cracks caused by years of expanding and contracting.
3. Examine objects for handmade details. Hand carving should feel uneven and asymmetrical. Machine carving is smooth and even. In the same way, handmade dovetails are large and uneven, whereas dovetails made with machines after the 18th century are thin and even. Check if the marble is original to the antique by running your hand along the edge. A jagged cut of marble is likely antique. If the edge feels smooth, the piece was probably created after the 18th century with a marble-cutting machine. Look over cane-backed chairs to determine whether they were made using inset caning or hand caning. If a chair was creating using hand caning, it doesn't have a border. Inset caning, a technique used beginning in 1900, has a spine bordering the caning.
4. Pay attention to how the piece is constructed and the hardware used. Philips screws, staples and fiberboard are clear indicators you are looking at a reproduction. Antiques with large surfaces, such as tables, were created using large boards with uneven widths. Replicas use narrow boards with even widths. Check the gluing. On antiques, the glue is often reinforced with a dowel or mortise and tenon joint. The mortise is a cavity on one piece of wood and the tenon is a projection coming out of the other piece wood that fits snugly into the cavity. Reproductions are often only glued down. Shiny hardware is another giveaway the piece is a replica. Vintage hardware is often tarnished and has a certain patina, or soft sheen, caused from years of use.
5. Look for signs the piece has been rebuilt or refurbished. Rebuilt furniture retains the essential antique body of the piece, while updating it with newer features, such as new shelves or a new backing. Refurbished furniture has been restored by refinishing, re-upholstery or replacing certain elements. Reproductions are entirely new.
Tags: 18th century, after 18th, after 18th century, boards with, from years, hand caning
