How To Date Furniture
Adding to the complexity is the proliferation of copycat builders and modern furniture craftsmen who do an admirable job of cloning authentic antique furniture right down to the tool marks and date stamps.
How to date furniture. After 1700 mahogany and walnut were very popular. The video above provides a great introduction to dating antique furniture and what areas should be examined. Hand cut dovetails appeared late in that century and for the next 80 years or so dovetails were wide stubby and crude.
Another use for casters is to estimate the date of the furniture. First we ll look at historical furniture styles dating back hundreds of years influenced by classical furniture styles that are even older. Look to see if the caster is a leathern bowl or roller.
Hand dovetails are slightly irregular and the pins are thin and tapered. Do not depend only on hardware style to date a piece. In the 17th century butt and rabbet joints were used.
Before that the chair was essentially a stool with a back and only the head of the house or the upper. Hand cut dovetails can date an older american piece to before 1890 although hobbyists and specialty makers still use them. Many victorian furniture manufacturers used mahogany and rosewood through the late 1800s.
A joint is where two pieces of wood come together. How to date old furniture. It can include anything from a valuable antique to a vintage piece of mid 20th century modern furniture.
Then around 1900 oak became popular again. This is one of the earliest forms of casters indicative of furniture made during the queen anne period in the early 1700s. Take note of the shape of the screws used to hold the furniture together.