A message to buyers and sellers of antiques alike.
The details really do matter.
Take two very similar antique writing desks. Same size. Same style. Both mahogany. Both are said to date date from the mid Victorian Period. Both have leather writing surfaces. Superficially both look great in the internet photos and are described as being in excellent condition.
But in reality they are different animals and have very different values.
Look more closely. Even without worrying about the "condition" the details tell the story.
Simple things. Quality brass fittings, brass lever locks stamped with the makers mark - with a set of original keys. Brass wheeled castors - again with matching makers mark. All the handles are original and match. The screws mounting the fittings are original and have never been moved since new. Beautiful hand cut dovetail joints to the drawer fronts. Oak lined drawers. The leather top is original with great patina and a hand tooled border, nicely rubbed and faded. The veneers match and are symmetrical in all the right places. Just the right amount of fading to the top and front of the desk to show that this is an original item that has been lovingly cared for. Even marks and scratches all speak to the originality of the desk.
And - the icing on the cake - the original makers mark and address stamped on several of the drawer fronts. Excellent! All of these details speak to an original desk of the highest quality and highly desirable in todays world.
The contrast becomes more obvious with the other item. The "brass" fittings are modern replacement replica's - they are just too shiny. The colour of the desk is too bright - the wax is fresh. The leather top is unmarked and straight "out of the box" - the gilded tooling is of a "standard" pattern and is almost blindingly bright. The drawer bottoms are flimsy and not lined. The locks are brass but have very simple brand new keys. And so on.......... Most tellingly the underside of the desk top and the pedestals is CLEAN!
Real antiques, of real age, are DIRTY in all those hidden areas - years of real dirt that describe years of history
So it doesn't matter whether you are looking at a piece of antique furniture like the desk above, or a piece of jewellery, or ceramics or silver - it really pays to look closely at the details. Do your homework on what the details of a top quality piece should look like and beware anything that just doesn't fit with that picture.
There are fakes around. Some will be very obvious. Some will be declared up front as "replicas" or "reproduction". But others will be much harder to spot. If in doubt consult an expert in the field. Someone who has handled dozens, even hundreds, of the original items and know what details are "right" and which are "wrong". Even down to what is original "dirt" and what has been applied last week to make the piece look a hundred years old.
Buyers - be prepared to pay a premium for originality and correctness.
Sellers - make sure you get full value for your original antique - and make sure that you stress that all the details are present and correct to make sure you get full value for your genuine antique.
Here is an example of a genuine example of a Childs Metamorphic High Chair c1905. All original fittings and mechanism. Original seating material - undamaged. Original label in place (Farmer Lane, London). All original screws. Dirty in all the right places around the mechanism but in full working order. All that is required for retail sale is cleaning and a gentle waxing and oiling.
A wide range of genuine antique items can be viewed in the archives of our website - lots of photos so you can check all those "devilish details" ! www.antiquedesks.net
The details really do matter.
Take two very similar antique writing desks. Same size. Same style. Both mahogany. Both are said to date date from the mid Victorian Period. Both have leather writing surfaces. Superficially both look great in the internet photos and are described as being in excellent condition.
But in reality they are different animals and have very different values.
Look more closely. Even without worrying about the "condition" the details tell the story.
Simple things. Quality brass fittings, brass lever locks stamped with the makers mark - with a set of original keys. Brass wheeled castors - again with matching makers mark. All the handles are original and match. The screws mounting the fittings are original and have never been moved since new. Beautiful hand cut dovetail joints to the drawer fronts. Oak lined drawers. The leather top is original with great patina and a hand tooled border, nicely rubbed and faded. The veneers match and are symmetrical in all the right places. Just the right amount of fading to the top and front of the desk to show that this is an original item that has been lovingly cared for. Even marks and scratches all speak to the originality of the desk.
And - the icing on the cake - the original makers mark and address stamped on several of the drawer fronts. Excellent! All of these details speak to an original desk of the highest quality and highly desirable in todays world.
The contrast becomes more obvious with the other item. The "brass" fittings are modern replacement replica's - they are just too shiny. The colour of the desk is too bright - the wax is fresh. The leather top is unmarked and straight "out of the box" - the gilded tooling is of a "standard" pattern and is almost blindingly bright. The drawer bottoms are flimsy and not lined. The locks are brass but have very simple brand new keys. And so on.......... Most tellingly the underside of the desk top and the pedestals is CLEAN!
Real antiques, of real age, are DIRTY in all those hidden areas - years of real dirt that describe years of history
So it doesn't matter whether you are looking at a piece of antique furniture like the desk above, or a piece of jewellery, or ceramics or silver - it really pays to look closely at the details. Do your homework on what the details of a top quality piece should look like and beware anything that just doesn't fit with that picture.
There are fakes around. Some will be very obvious. Some will be declared up front as "replicas" or "reproduction". But others will be much harder to spot. If in doubt consult an expert in the field. Someone who has handled dozens, even hundreds, of the original items and know what details are "right" and which are "wrong". Even down to what is original "dirt" and what has been applied last week to make the piece look a hundred years old.
Buyers - be prepared to pay a premium for originality and correctness.
Sellers - make sure you get full value for your original antique - and make sure that you stress that all the details are present and correct to make sure you get full value for your genuine antique.
Here is an example of a genuine example of a Childs Metamorphic High Chair c1905. All original fittings and mechanism. Original seating material - undamaged. Original label in place (Farmer Lane, London). All original screws. Dirty in all the right places around the mechanism but in full working order. All that is required for retail sale is cleaning and a gentle waxing and oiling.
A wide range of genuine antique items can be viewed in the archives of our website - lots of photos so you can check all those "devilish details" ! www.antiquedesks.net
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