The single most useful word in an online antique listing is the one most buyers skim past: "style." "Louis XVI style" means built in the manner of — not built in the period. Honest sellers use the word precisely; dishonest ones leave it out. Learn to read it and half the risk of buying antiques online disappears.The vocabulary that protects youPeriod means made in the era named. Style or in the manner of means a later homage. Attributed to is an opinion without documentation. Signed means it carries a signature...
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Most furniture made before 1980 was built to be repaired. Most furniture made after 2005 was built to be replaced. That one fact explains why estate furniture is usually the best value in the secondhand market — and why the price tags confuse people in both directions.Worth buying almost every timeSolid-hardwood case goods. Dressers, commodes, desks and library tables built from oak, walnut, mahogany or teak. The quartersawn oak library table in our current catalogue has figure you cannot buy new at retail price.Chairs with corner blocks. Flip the chair...
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Veneer is not the insult people think it is. A veneered surface — a thin sheet of show wood glued over a core — has been on high-end furniture for over two hundred years, and some of the most valuable pieces that come through our Charlotte estate projects are veneered. What matters when you're buying secondhand isn't "solid versus veneer." It's what the veneer is glued to.The 30-second edge checkLook at an edge where the top meets the side. On solid wood, the grain wraps over the edge and end...
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