by Joseph Malek

Created on: June 22, 2009

Like it or not, one must be an experienced lover of antiques in order to determine the age of any, so called, antique that was made a long time ago. As such, an item becomes an antique item only after it has attained the age of 100 years. As of today, those items that were made on or before 1909 are now properly considered to be antique items.

Therefore, we are talking about many Victorian age items and those of the art nouveau movement, which was prior to the art deco style of objects of everyday life. As valuable as many art deco items are they still are not within the definition of being antiques.

Be that as it may, you now have some guideline on which to make a determination of what is or is not an antique item of art, furniture or any other item that was made so long ago. Then again, the furniture style and the condition of the object can be matched with similar styles of the past. You might also see an item that was recently reproduced in the style of an antique period of the past.

In other words, if the description of such an item that is up for auction is described as being in the style of you better believe that the item is most likely not an antique. For your additional information, several reference books are available within your local library that will help determine if what you happen to own is an antique.

Such periods of antiquity are named for the particular King or Queen of England and/or King or Queen of France that was in power at the time when that antique was created.

Such is the case for most of those items that were made during the rule of Queen Victoria and those that came before her who sat on the throne.

As a matter of fact, most European made furniture was infested by wood worms that made little holes in the wood and most of those holes are easily seen. American made furniture is more difficult to classify, in that there were many reproductions made of the popular antique styles of the past, including copies of the various periods of European antique furniture.

During your investigation you might also discover a maker's mark or a printed label that identifies the maker. In some cases the maker's name might even be pressed into or hand written on the wood in a place that is not visible on its exterior surface, such as inside of a drawer or on the frame inside of the item in question.

On the other hand, if you cannot identify the maker or date the item by means of ordinary ware you will have to guess as to the age of the item. Each item might or might not be dated by how many people within the past owned the object. In other words, where did the item come from and who were those past owners. Some people keep a record of such information that can easily be confirmed or rejected.

Like it or not such verbal explanations as: "It was my Father's or my Grandfather's.", is not creditable evidence. So too, the selling of fake antiques is a common occurrence that even the most knowledgeable person might be fooled into buying.

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