Antiques

As an auctioneer, I'm often asked how do you tell if something is old? What does the term period as it pertains to antiques? How do I spot a fake or a reproduction? I hope this article will clear a few things up on those issues? What is the single thing I can do or buy that will make me the most money as a part time antiquer? The answer to that question is the very last sentence in this article. Period antiques: There's sometimes a lot of confusion about the term PERIOD when it comes to antiques and there shouldn't be because the term has a very clear cut meaning. The term period simply means the original era an antique was originally made throughout. Let's take for example the Gothic Period which originated in the 12th Century and lasted throughout the 16th. So that span in History would be the actual Gothic Period. But the Gothic Style, like so many styles throughout history was copied many times after, so a Gothic styled piece of furniture from the 1800s can be an an...