How to Authenticate an Antique — Five Things to Examine

The most expensive mistake in antique buying is not overpaying for a real piece — it is paying anything at all for a reproduction. Here is the short version of what a dealer looks at, in order, in the first two minutes of examining a piece.

1. Patina

Patina is the surface a piece has developed by being touched, sat on, cleaned, and lit by daylight for a century or more. It is uneven. It is darker where hands rest and lighter where dust has been wiped. It cannot be applied. A uniformly aged 'antique' finish, especially on horizontal surfaces, is nearly always sprayed.

2. Joinery

Turn the piece over. Look at drawer sides, the underside of the top, the back panels. Genuine 18th and 19th century furniture uses hand-cut dovetails (irregular, slightly uneven), pegged mortise-and-tenon joints, and hand-planed backs with visible tool marks. Perfectly machined joints on a piece claimed to be 1850 are a red flag.

3. Timber

The wood should match the era and region. Anglo-Indian pieces from Bombay in the 1880s are teak or rosewood — not mahogany. French provincial pieces are walnut, cherry or oak — not teak. If the timber does not match the story, one of them is wrong.

4. Hardware

Original handles, escutcheons and hinges oxidise unevenly and show wear where fingers actually touch. Replacement hardware is not a dealbreaker on a good piece, but it should be disclosed. Screws are useful too — hand-cut screws (pre-1850) have off-centre slots; machine-cut screws are perfectly centred.

5. Provenance

The single most valuable thing a dealer can give you is a written note of where the piece came from, when it was acquired, and what has been done to it. Vinterior issues a signed statement of provenance with every acquisition. If a seller cannot tell you where a piece was before them, treat the price accordingly.