Antique Table or Reproduction? How to tell the difference?

Antique Table or Reproduction? How to tell the difference
I’ll share with you some secret trade top tips on how to tell the difference between a real antique table and a horrible reproduction - easy to follow and understand
Do you have fabulous antiques to talk about, or for me to to sell for you? I’m always looking for interesting items and people to feature and make films about here on my channel
Contact me David Harper www.david-harper.uk
Thanks
David Harper
#antiques #antiquesroadshow #antiquesroadtrip #bargainhunting #bargainhunt #antiqueshopping

[@skiracer]

Dear David Harper, Lessons from the master for free. Thank you very much!

[@justalad9688]

Great video David

[@ronmellor5951]

I to agree with the indications of ware, l although I might have thought early Victorian mostly do to the factory made latch mechanism. Also you might have pointed out the lightness of the prominent surfaces of the turning. Always like your posts.

[@VintageCarHistory]

Great video! Being someone that has made furniture, I saw this table as genuine. The screws, clasp and patternation are spot on. The legs are classic of Georgian form and spot on. Though I did wonder if the top had been stripped and redone some one hundred years later. It still has the right patina, though...

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

Cheers Bill

[@stephanieknuppel7428]

very useful video, tank you !

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

My pleasure

[@OriginalNethead]

The first thing I always look at is how many boards to top is made from; American repop ususally is made from two or more pieces because the old growth trees are long gone. If it's a one piece top, then I look at the rest. (and then I leave it in the shop because there's no market for the old bits here.) I recently found a farmer made drop-leaf table made of THREE BOARDS, one center and two 'drops' plus the base. Cherry top, burled maple drawer front. No one bought it until it went under the $100 mark. Pathetic. The wood was worth 10x that if you went to buy some and make one yourself. That is, if you could find any.

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

It’s odd isn’t it that material costs today cost more than an antique piece of furniture made centuries ago…it’s a mad world!

[@penelopesparrow]

Very interesting video thank you, that plate under the legs is just gorgeous, shame it can't be seen all the time! That bit alone would have me thinking it's earlier, but without that piece, how would you tell a 18thC from an 19thC repro? They're both old enough to have strong patina, maybe hand-made screws if estate made? I've always dealt in 20th, now I'm wanting to learn 18th because I love it. Not that i see any here in Oz haha! One day I'll finally move to the UK...

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

Thanks for watching. Well, the late 19th C repro would certainly have mass made screws and wouldn’t have the metal bracket. It would likely have big dovetail joints holding the tripod to the base.D

[@penelopesparrow]

@@DavidHarperAntiquesTV ah i see - thank you!

[@mickfromaustralia902]

"So nice you could lick it" And it comes in 200 years of different flavours :)

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

I’ve done it before!

[@eddieharris6004]

Great presentation, good advice, can't disagree Harper. With those tilt top tables just be carefull the top started life with the base...they often get swapped around. Look for any later filled empty screw holes or lighter areas where a previous bearer was positioned. Old versus reproduction?....personaly i would rather live with a fine quality tip top repro rather than an early genuine piece that has had a hard life and dull design.

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

Thanks Eddie and good points made. I’ll cover marriages, badly restored pieces etc with other items sometime soon. cheers D

[@joanfreestone1707]

Very interesting. Thank you for explaining how to tell the difference.

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

My pleasure Joan

[@RonanSD]

Love these sort of educational videos on antiques. I’m learning! :) Thank you

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

Glad you like them…more to come!

[@daviddevos3518]

I also like the glass piece you've put aside there.

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

Yes, I’ll be doing a vid on that at some point !

[@Countrygarden2023]

Yes please make more videos like this!

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

Thank you…more to come!

[@BVa859]

There is an entire industry where artists fake wear, no expert in life can distinguish a 200-year-old table from a 30-year-old one.. It’s all nonsense! There are literally hundreds of people selling two-hundred-year-old furniture everywhere. So much furniture in principle could not be created!!!

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

You’re quite obviously not in the antiques business. I can tell a 30 year old table from a 200 year old table from 10ft away! No need to even handle it…And so should anyone with any experience.

[@BVa859]

@@DavidHarperAntiquesTV Don't overestimate yourself! Perhaps you are just lying to yourself. For every experienced antique dealer, there is an even more experienced chemist.

[@BVa859]

@@DavidHarperAntiquesTV I'll give you a brief example. Once, I came across an article in a fine woodworking magazine. There, a professional carpenter was interviewing an expert who specializes in restoring antique furniture for auctions. So the carpenter asks, 'What kind of joint does this table have?' The expert replies, 'Full blind.' And the carpenter is surprised, 'Wow, quite an advanced joint for that time.' But the expert responds, 'No, this joint I made it myself, because originally it was just glued! It was glued because a famous furniture company at the time simply glued the pieces together to finish the table quickly and sell it! That's because furniture production was streamlined! So, the market is flooded with such crap that even sells at auctions for insane amounts of money! And we know there's nothing worse than when antique furniture is altered. It simply destroys its antique value! But everyone stays silent because everyone is making money. And you will never be able to distinguish anything. You're a professional spectator who the expert can deceive in a second!

[@DavidHarperAntiquesTV]

@@BVa859 If you think a genuine antiques expert couldn’t do what I suggest any good one should be able to do, you’re mixing with very poor antiques experts! If you’re going to comment, please add value

[@BVa859]

@@DavidHarperAntiquesTV I gave you an example about the expert repairing antique furniture for an auction house, can you comment on that?