2011 © Antiques in Bethania
ANTIQUES 101
An antique, according to the dictionary, is one of the oldest of its type. It can
be "a piece of furniture, tableware or the like, made at a much earlier period than
the present." It is not, however, necessarily out-of-date or old-fashioned. A chair
that was built soundly from good hardwood around 1820 and is comfortable to sit on
is never out-of-date.
People often say that an antique is anything that is sold in an antiques shop, including items such as arts and crafts furniture, Tiffany lamps, and art deco bronzes.
Some people consider an antique automobile or computer that are much less than 100 years old an antique. According to U.S. Customs regulations, items more than 100 years old and can be brought into the country duty free are antiques. So, anything made before 1907 is now an antique. By the strictest definition, everything gets to be an antique if it exists for 100 years. But not every antique is collectible. Motor vehicles, tools and other items subject to vigorous use in contrast, may be considered antiques in the U.S. if older than 25 years, and some electronic gadgets of more recent vintage may be considered antiques.
The official definition of an antique as recorded in the tariff act of 1930 states that antiques are "works of art (except rugs and carpets made after the year 1700), collections in illustration of the progress of the arts, works in bronze, marble, terra cotta, parian, pottery or porcelain, artistic antiquities and objects of ornamental character or educational value which shall have been produced prior to the year 1830."
This statement is clear in its application to imports and the payment of duty on them. But the year 1830 is more than an arbitrary date in the classification of American antiques. It was about this time that mass production and factory manufacture began to displace the making of individual pieces entirely by hand. Glass began to be pressed into forms by machine instead of being hand-blown.
Chairs were the first piece of furniture to which assembly line methods were applied. Although the cabinetmaker, the glassblower, the blacksmith, and other craftsmen were not put out of business immediately, each succeeding decade brought an increase in mass manufacturing.
The fact that a chair or table was made by a cabinetmaker before 1830 does not necessarily makeit a more valuable antique than one made thereafter. ll the cabinetmakers in any period were not equally skillful; many of them turned out mediocre pieces.
In every craft that contributed to daily living, some workmen produced wares that made their names famous and some didn't.
Such as this example from a carved three piece setting made for a castle in Germany around the late 18th Century. Provenance records that it was made for Margrave (Duke) III, Charles William's heir. The quality of the fantastic carving is a superb example of the craftsmanship for the Germans are famous and represents a true museum quality antique in every sense of the word.