ANTIQUE DEFINITION
The definition of antique varies from source to source, product to product, and year to year. However, some time-tested definitions of antique deserve consideration, such as the following:
- "An item which is at least 100 years old and is collected or desirable due to rarity, condition, utility, or some other unique feature. Motor vehicles, power tools and other items subject to vigorous use in contrast, may be considered antiques in the U.S. if older than 50 years, and some electronic gadgets of more recent vintage may be considered antiques. Another general rule of thumb is 75 years for most objects to become antiques"Any piece of furniture or decorative object or the like produced in a former period and valuable because of its beauty or rarity
- In the United States, the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act defined an antique as "works of art (except rugs and carpets made after the year 1700), collections in illustration of the progress of the arts, works in bronze, marble, terra cotta, parian, pottery or porcelain, artistic antiquities and objects of ornamental character or educational value which shall have been produced prior to the year 1830
- 1830 was roughly the beginning of mass production in the U.S. and 100 years older than 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act.
These definitions allow people to make a distinction between genuine antique pieces, vintage items, and collectible objects.
The alternative term antiquities commonly refers to the remains of ancient art and everyday items from antiquity, which themselves are often archaeological artifacts.
The term antiquarian refers to a person interested in antiquities, or things of the past.
Antiquin
"Antiquing" is the act of shopping, identifying, negotiating, or bargaining for antiques. Items can be bought for personal use, gifts, and in the case of brokers and dealers, profit. Antiquing is performed at garage sales, estate sales, resort towns, antiques districts, collectives, and international auction houses.
Antique furniture
Main article: Antique furniture
The collecting of antique furniture is a particularly popular area of antiques due to the practical characteristics of these antiques. Antique furniture includes dining tables, chairs, bureaus, chests etc. The most common woods are mahogany, oak, pine, walnut and rosewood. In Chinese antique furniture the most common wood is elm a wood common to most regions able to sustain trees. Each wood has its own distinctive grain and colour. Many modern pieces of furniture often use laminate or wood veneer to cheaply achieve the same effect. There are a number of different styles of antique furniture depending on when and where it was made. The most common include Arts & Crafts, Georgian, Regency American Pastoral, and Victorian.
Vintage Collectibles, Vintage is a generic term for pre-owned, second-hand or even like-new items from a previous era. The term has to do with age and does not take into account the condition of the item. The word vintage is copied from its use in wine terminology, where it only denotes age - not the condition or quality of the wine. Vintage is a more elegant-seeming euphemism for old or previously owned items. It can be a very subjective matter though, as much as "beauty is in the eye of the beholder".
Americana
refers to artifacts, or a collection of artifacts, related to the history, geography, folklore and cultural heritage of the United States. Many kinds of material fall within the definition ofAmericana: paintings, prints and drawings; license plates or entire vehicles, household objects, tools and weapons; flags, plaques and statues, and so on. Patriotism and nostalgia play a defining role in the subject. The things involved need not be old, but need to have the appropriate associations. The term may be used to describe the theme of a museum or collection, or of goods for sale
