Want to Buy Antique Furniture? Read This!

Information may not be reliable

Are you looking to buy antique furniture? At auctions in Alabama, you can find the desired items. But it is not always easy to differentiate between a hidden treasure and trash. However, after reading this guide, you can surely find out the difference:

Find Out How The Furniture Was Made?

If you are buying from online antique auctions, take a look at the various images and try to find out how the furniture was made. In live auctions, you will get some time to preview the item. Make the best use of the same.

Does the piece that you are looking at have drawers? If it has, try to pull them out and look at how they are constructed. It will give a fair idea about whether the piece was handmade or not. Look for the sign of hand-craftsmanship.

Look at the side of the drawer, and you should find dovetails and the larger cut marks. These are the left-over marks that the saw created. And you would want to see them.

If the furniture item were made between the 17th and the 18th century, it would have these marks and cuts. More recent items have refined dovetails, and these are entirely phased out in latest ones.

If you don’t see the dovetails at all, then the piece would have been made with nails and glue. It indicates that the piece was made in the factory closer in the 20th century. These are the things to pay attention to in the Alabama state auctions.

Closely Look At the Handles

The way hardware is fixed to the drawer can also indicate whether the piece you are looking at is old or new. Pull out the drawer and pay attention to the back of the handle. If you find a thread-post and nut securing the brass to the drawer front, it shows that the piece is older. But if you don’t see the nut, and see what looks to be the top of the slotted or flathead screw going towards the drawer, then it indicates that the hardware is newer.

Does It Have a Signature or a Stamp Or Is Labeled?

Furniture items from 17th and 18th centuries onwards rarely carry signature. But check the drawers on the backs and undersides of the drawers. These areas hold a lot of information about the age and authenticity. There may be pencil marks or signature made of chalk to indicate where it was produced.

Items that are made in the later 19th century, you could see factory-made furniture with stamps. There are no names, but impressed numbers could be found on the drawers which are model number, so the item made in the factory.

Is it damaged?

The item for preview in antique auctions in Alabama should be closely observed to find out any damages. The most used parts are more likely to be repaired or replaced. If you find cracks in the wood, there is nothing to worry much. Fluctuations in the temperature cause wood to expand and contract, and it creates shrinkage cracks.

Finally,

Before attending the antique auctions in Alabama, consider the finer things, and you’ll inevitably land a treasure.