Recognising Antique Wood

TV programmes about antiques are very informative, and because of them, people are now a lot more knowledgeable about antique furniture. What is antique and what is reproduction? Both have values, some more than others. There is nothing wrong with reproductions, and they are abundant but could fool you if you are looking for the real thing - unless you know what to look out for. Knowing the differences are likely to help you avoid paying more for furniture that isn’t actually antique.

Here are a few things you should look out for:

The Types of Wood Used

Furniture makers often use cheaper wood varieties in hard-to-see parts of furniture. Good woods are expensive, and this would be a method of keeping prices down while still delivering what on the surface is beautiful furniture. If all the wood used is the same, with the same grain and colouring, it is likely to be the real deal. Check the back, underneath or drawer interiors to see if a secondary type of wood was used. If parts of the piece are made with a different or manufactured wood - such as plywood – it is unlikely to be a genuine antique.

The Condition of the Wood

Checking the age of the piece of furniture is tricky. You might think that pieces without marks and with smooth or even carvings are what you want, but if the mouldings or carvings are too perfect they are most likely machine-made, and if any modern screws are showing as well, it will all point to furniture being newer than you think. Fakers are very good at reproducing the patina of wood too, so don’t be fooled. Patinas are a surface layer that develops on the surface of an item over a period of time and tends to be a toned or darker layer that takes decades or centuries to naturally form on a material.

Antique furniture also tends to show signs of shrinking, which can lead to splits and seam separation. This can mean that circular tables are no longer perfectly circular and furniture is slightly wonky - all signs that will help when trying to identify genuine antiques.

Wear and tear are other areas where fakers will go to great lengths to mimic woodworm, nicks and dents. But these shouldn’t have a regular pattern, but runners on drawers might be worn and perhaps even have been repaired in the past, all signs that indicate the piece is genuinely antique.

Look for Dovetailing

Dovetailing is a furniture manufacturing technique that has been used for centuries to join different parts of a piece of furniture together. You’ll often find it on the sides of cabinets and drawers, for example, giving you a good idea of the furniture’s age. However, good reproduction pieces can be made this way too, and you will have to take a good look. If there are irregularities in the cut of the dovetailing, it is likely to be handmade, but modern dovetailing will likely be made with precisely cut lines, meaning they have been cut by a machine.

My grandfather was a cabinet maker, and one of his legacies was a beautiful inlaid jewellery box with dovetailed drawers, which I own now. Why did he call himself a cabinet maker and not a carpenter? it seems a cabinet maker builds fine furniture and cabinets working primarily in a workshop with a vast array of woodworking machines, hand tools and work benches. Carpentry too is a skilled trade, and a carpenter works mainly on-site, building structures out of wood and wood substitutes.

Labels, stamps and manufacturer’s marks

Just to make things worse, if there is a label, look for signs of ageing, as these too can be faked. It’s also worth noting that some reproduction pieces - especially those made in the 1990s - have mass-produced tags or labels on them, which also show that the furniture is not old. Check underneath, the backs of furniture or in the drawers to see if you can find hints of who made the furniture, where, and the year that it was made.

Marilyn writes regularly for The Portugal News, and has lived in the Algarve for some years. A dog-lover, she has lived in Ireland, UK, Bermuda and the Isle of Man. 

Marilyn Sheridan