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The first step in attributing antique furniture is to identify its style. Each historical period had its own characteristic features, forms, and decorative elements. Knowledge of these features helps to narrow down the time frame of the item's creation and determine its origin.
| Style | Characteristic Features |
| Baroque (17th - early 18th c.) | Massiveness, curved lines, rich carving, use of expensive materials (walnut, oak). |
| Rococo (mid-18th c.) | Elegance, asymmetry, pastel colors, motifs of shells and scrolls (rocaille). |
| Classicism (late 18th c.) | Austere, symmetrical, straight lines, classical motifs (columns, meanders), light-colored woods. |
| Empire (early 19th c.) | Monumentality, symmetry, military and Egyptian symbolism (sphinxes, laurel wreaths), mahogany. |
The first step in attributing antique furniture is to identify its style. Each historical period had its own characteristic features, forms, and decorative elements. Knowledge of these features helps to narrow down the time frame of the item's creation and determine its origin.
For example, the Baroque style is characterized by massiveness, opulence, and an abundance of carved decor. In the Rococo era, forms become more elegant and asymmetrical, with a predominance of pastel tones and floral motifs. Later, during the Classicism and Empire periods, furniture once again takes on strict, symmetrical lines inspired by classical models.
Correct style identification is the foundation upon which all further appraisal is built. It is important to pay attention to the overall form, proportions, type of legs, back shape, and the nature of the decor.
After stylistic analysis, the next step is to examine the furniture's construction. The methods of joining parts, the type of wood used, and the internal structure can reveal more about a piece than its external appearance. Before the 19th century, furniture was made by hand, which left distinctive marks.
One of the most important markers of age is the type of joinery. For example, dovetail joints on drawers were made by hand until the end of the 18th century, so the pins were large and not perfectly symmetrical. In the 19th century, with the advent of machinery, dovetails became small, even, and perfectly uniform.
Materials also play a key role. Certain types of wood were popular in different eras and countries. For example, before the 18th century, oak and walnut were often used, while at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries, mahogany came into fashion. It is important to inspect the back panels and the inside of drawers—cheaper, local woods (such as pine or spruce) were often used there, which can indicate the country of origin.
| Tool | Characteristic Marks |
| Hand plane | Slight waviness on the surface, small tears, uneven smoothness. |
| Hand saw | Cuts that are not perfectly straight and parallel, often at a slight angle. |
| Circular saw (from mid-19th c.) | A perfectly flat cut with characteristic arc-shaped or concentric scratches. |
| Chisel, gouge | Slight irregularities and chamfers on the edges of carved elements, marks from a mallet. |
Every tool leaves its unique mark on the wood. The ability to distinguish these imprints allows for a precise determination of when and how an item was made. Furniture created before the Industrial Revolution bears the marks of exclusively hand tools.
Surfaces finished with a hand plane are never perfectly smooth. In side lighting, you can notice a slight waviness or small tears. Marks from a hand saw are usually at a slight angle and are not perfectly parallel. In contrast, circular and band saws, which appeared in the 19th century, leave characteristic concentric or parallel scratches.
Special attention should be paid to unfinished surfaces: the back panels of cabinets, the bottoms of drawers. It is here that craftsmen were least likely to hide the marks of their work, and it is here that the clearest evidence of manual labor can be found. The absence of such marks on a seemingly antique piece is a serious reason to doubt its authenticity.
The 19th century was the era of historicism, when craftsmen mass-produced copies of styles from previous centuries. A high-quality 19th-century copy can look very similar to an 18th-century original, but as always, the devil is in the details. To distinguish an original from a later imitation, you need to summarize all the knowledge you've gained.
Original 18th-century furniture was created as a functional item for daily life. Therefore, it will have natural signs of wear: scuffs in places of frequent contact (handles, armrests, tabletop edges), old but quality repairs, and a patina on metal hardware. The wear should be logical and consistent with the item's use.
19th-century copies, especially those made for exhibitions or wealthy interiors, often look too perfect. The construction may have been done using machinery, which is revealed by straight cuts and perfect joints. The decor might be excessive or not accurately replicate the style's canons. Often, copies use thinner veneers or materials not characteristic of the original era.
