What To Look For When Assessing The Quality Of Antique Furniture
Posted on: 25 July 2017
Antique furniture can be a very fun addition to your home and can also be worth a lot. However, buying antique furniture can be a challenging experience because some pieces of furniture may be more fragile and some pieces of furniture may also be different from more modern pieces you may be used to working with. Also, by inspecting the antique furniture, you can often determine if it was handmade or manufactured.
Look For Cut Marks
On the inside of the drawer front, there might be large cut marks. This is a sign that the drawers were made by a furniture maker and were not manufactured. The farther away from the city center the furniture was made, the larger thee marks will be. This is because more experienced furniture makers can be found in larger cities where they underwent apprenticeships that would teach furniture makers how to make smaller cut marks. Also, furniture makers in cities were often competing with each other in order to create smaller cut marks. The upside of finding furniture with a small cut mark is that it is likely to be of higher quality.
Look For Stamps
Another way to determine if the furniture is handmade is to look for a stamp. Furniture manufacturers often used stamps, especially in the 19th century and beyond. A stamp can indicate that the furniture is of better quality, but can also indicate that it is less unique. The stamp will either be impressed or will be stenciled in the inside of the furniture piece.
Look For Damage
If you find damage on antique furniture, this can mean that the piece is worth less and it can also indicate that the furniture is not in good condition, but this is not always the case. If the furniture is made from wood and has cracks, this is common and does not detract from the value of the furniture. However, if there are parts that needed to be replaced, this can cause the furniture to be worth less because some components may not be original. If the furniture is repaired in a manner that brings it back to the state it was in when it was originally created, this is not a problem. However, entirely new parts can detract from the value of the furniture. While you should consider the value of the furniture, the most important consideration is whether you can live with it.
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