It’s always exciting when you come across an old piece of furniture that still looks incredible. You might be cleaning out some storage or visiting a flea market and find an antique English armchair that looks perfect for your space. The next question, however, is how do you know for sure that it is what they say?
At The Parson’s Nose, my team and I source all of our antiques first-hand on our trips to England, to ensure you get the most authentic antiques possible. Having done this for two decades now, I’ve learned a trick or two when it comes to spotting genuine English antiques from modern replicas. If you’re looking out for something special, here are some of my top tips.
Look for Period Details
English antiques have a very unique style that evolved over centuries, picking up inspiration from across Europe and blending it with British tastes. While some elements of antique English furniture are also popular in modern styles, there are plenty of aspects that make them distinct.
Here are some telltale signs that give a good indication what you’re looking at is an English antique:
- Bold leg designs and ball and claw feet (often a feature of Georgian antiques).
- Copper or Brass metal features instead of cheaper modern metals.
- Handmade carvings (often more intricate and irregular than modern replicas)
- High-quality inlay woods (as opposed to cheaper chipboards often used as modern inlays).
Look at the Joints
One of the best ways to tell if something is an antique or not is to look inside and underneath. The areas where you’re not supposed to look often provide the most details on whether a piece is a genuine English antique or a modern item designed to look like one.
Joints are a great giveaway in this regard. Many antiques feature obvious joints, like dovetail joints, whereas new technology means modern items often have no obvious jointwork at all.
If the joints are visible but you’re still unsure, check to see how regular they are; antique craftsmen had to cut their joints by hand, which naturally leads to some irregularities compared to the machine-cut joints of today.
Another trick is to look at what inlay woods have been used. Just like today’s furniture, antiques can feature different woods on the same item. However, antiques still used rich, quality woods as inlays, whereas modern furniture tends to use cheaper alternatives, such as chipboard.
Seek Irregularities
Arguably the best thing you can do when trying to discern if something’s an antique is to look for any and all irregularities. This is one of the biggest differences between antique furniture and vintage furniture.
In England, it wasn’t until the Victorian era (or late 19th century) that machine-made furniture started to appear. Everything before that, especially that which has survived to this day, tended to be handcrafted.
Machine-made furniture delivers great precision, whereas handcrafted antiques are full of minor imperfections as most things were done by eye. So, if you think you have an antique, look carefully across the whole thing to see if there are flaws. Key areas to focus are:
- Joints – Are all the joints exactly the same size, or are some slightly off?
- Carvings – Do the carvings look almost too perfect? Analyse motifs such as flowers or lions’ heads.
- Curves – Are curves perfectly uniform or are they slightly off in places? (This can sometimes be due to warping, another sign of ageing).
- Colour & Varnish – Is there a consistent colour across most of the item, or areas where more/less varnish has been applied?
- Wear & Tear – Many vintage replicas are designed to imitate natural wear but can look too precise; instead, is there natural discolouring or warping in places?
Look for Antique Marks
Last but not least, you can always look to see if the item has any antique marks or numbers.
Many of England’s most prestigious furniture makers would engrave a mark somewhere on the item as proof of their work, often in a place you couldn’t see (such as on back panels or near joints). Sometimes this would include their name, sometimes it was just a combination of letters and numbers.
Looking for numbers isn’t a foolproof system, as some used stickers which may have fallen off over time, and smaller producers didn’t mark their items at all. However, if you do find a mark, doing a quick search may help you discover the origins of the item.
I hope these tips give you confidence on your search for authentic English antiques. Remember, everything we offer here has been sourced first-hand by my team or myself, so if you want to add a touch of English countryside living to your space, you can be assured that what you see here is the real thing.