March 2012
1 post
6 tags
RULE #5 – ALL wood softens as it ages.
One of the first things I do when I am onsite for an appraisal of antiques is touch the furniture. While the owner is showing me what needs to be appraised, I am already feeling the exterior edges looking for a soft touch. Of all the senses, the sense of touch or tactioception can quickly tell you more about an antique than ophthalmoception, audioception, gustaoception and olfacoception...
June 2011
1 post
13 tags
Georgian On My Mind
Although Ray may have been singing about the Peach State, I would like to discuss the madness of King Georgian furniture. In antique speak, “Georgian” is a catchall term referring to English (and sometimes American) pieces made during the three successive reigns of George I (1714 - 1727), George II (1727 - 1760), and crazy George III (1760 - 1820). That is a 106 year period spanning...
January 2011
1 post
8 tags
RULE #4 - Patina CANNOT be faked, reproduced or...
Riddle me this, antiquist…What is the result of care (dusting, waxing, polishing) & the result of neglect (dirt, grease, grime)? What is both man-made (scratches, nicks, dings) & natural (sunlight, chemical changes in the wood & its surface). You guessed it - Patina! The best definition of patina comes from the Godfather of American Antiques, Israel Sack (1883 - 1959) -...
October 2010
1 post
7 tags
Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-Chinoiserie!
Having looked specifically at Chinese Chippendale, let’s take a brief gander at the broader theme of “Chinoiserie”. Modern Western interest in China began with the importation of Chinese ceramics by the Portugese in the 16th century. In the early 1600s, two Portugese ships returning from China were captured by the Dutch. The cargo of thousands of items of Chinese porcelain...
September 2010
1 post
Chinese Chippendale is BUSY with all the bells...
While Chinoiserie had been popular throughout Europe since the middle to late 17th century, Thomas Chippendale’s use of Chinese motifs on his quintessentially English wares made for a new style of design. Regardless of its maker, Chinese Chippendale employs Chinese motifs such as fanciful Chinese figures, pagodas, dragons, temples, palaces, fretwork, glazing, railings, bamboo & bells. ...
August 2010
1 post
6 tags
Yankee or Limey, Chip ‘n Dale? 3. American...
I wonder if Sarah Palin knows that American Chippendale differs from English Chippendale out of political-economic protest by the Thirteen Colonies to the taxation measures of Crown? In the 1760s, various colonies passed non-importation resolutions vowing not to import English goods – including London-made Chippendale furniture. By 1765, the flow of the fashionable Chippendale furniture from...
July 2010
3 posts
9 tags
What the bloody hell is a Chippendale?
Two animated chipmunks & erotic male dancing aside, Chippendale refers to an 18th century English style of furniture that is often most easily identified by its use of the ball & claw foot. Unlike Rococo or Biedermeier, the term Chippendale honors a flesh & blood journeyman cabinet maker named Thomas Chippendale (1718 – 79). In 1754, he became the first cabinet maker to publish a...
7 tags
2. Wood always shrinks across the grain.
Often antique furniture may appear to be misshapen or damaged. A round tabletop may look oval. An armoire’s framed panels may appear to have cracked or split. Often this is a result of the wood shrinkage. Wood shrinks when it is placed in an environment of lower moisture content. On average, wood shrinks twice as much “across the grain” as it does “with or through the grain”. The width...
7 tags
1. Foreign-made pieces that were created before...
Beginning in 1891, the McKinley Tariff Act required foreign-made imports be stamped or labeled in English words with their country of origin. If the piece was not made for export, then it may not be labeled.
1863-1890
1891-1926
Belleek China changed their mark to comply with the McKinley Tariff Act of 1891 to include the word” IRELAND”.