Abacus
Antique Dealers: Antique Terms Explained
The
world of antiques is fascinating and beautiful but
it can for the majority of people be confusing and
when listening to others in the trade that have years
of experience you may think they are talking in a
foreign language. If you want to get ahead in the
world of antiques then it is essential that you understand
what others are talking about, so here is the technical
jargon and terms explained in an easy to understand
way.
The
term antique can be confusing to start with, an item
is classed as antique if it is 100 years or older,
however in some cases an item can be considered antique
if it fifty years or more.
Firing
cracks is a term that is used in the collection of
pottery, this occurs during the baking of the pot
in the kiln and it is not actually classed as damage.
The
word circa is often used in antiques and this is usually
represented by the letter C in front of a date, what
this means is hat the item in question can be dated
ten years either way from the date that is quoted
as a guide.
Soft
paste and hard paste are both terms used when talking
about porcelain; hard paste porcelain usually comes
from Europe while soft paste is usually made in Britain
and in some cases France.
When
antiques are classed as being in the Victorian period
they are usually divided into three different times,
early, middle and late Victorian periods this particular
applies to furniture and ceramic pieces.
Periods
of time are also defined as Elizabethan, Queen Anne,
Carolean, Mary and Georgian. They are classed as Edwardian
if the item if they are dated 1901 to World War one.
Staffordshire
is a word that is used in the collection of pottery
particularly if it comes from Britain. This is the
area that the pottery was made and includes such as
Royal Doulton and Wedgwood pottery pieces.
Enamel
is the word that is used to describe the material
and in particular the type of paint that was used
to decorate porcelain and pottery especially plates.
Jasperware
is a term that is used in pottery and especially when
it comes to Wedgwood pottery, in fact it was Wedgwood
that invented the jasperware process; it is most famous
for its representation of classical scenes in relief
in white.
Art
deco is the term used to describe the decorating techniques
and architecture with the most common materials used
in these pieces being metal and steel which are well
known for portraying geometric shapes.
Baroque
is a term used to describe art and architecture that
was from Europe ad mainly Italy during the late 16th
and early 17th century. The style is typified by the
use of very ornate scrolls and curves which was in
fashion between 1660 and 1730.
Britannia
standard was the first ever silver mark indicating
that a particular piece was made of sterling silver
with a purity of 92.5%
