antique furniture

Christine Wolf

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Dec 18, 1996, 3:00:00 AM12/18/96

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This is a question on a personal note. I recently bought an oak table and
six chairs and I'm wondering if anyone can tell me what criteria make
furniture antiques? For example, how old does it have to be? I know there
are good quality antiques and poor, but at the moment I just need the basic
criteria.

Thanks in advance and happy holidays to all!

Cris Wolf

Collections Manager
UIHC Medical Museum
8024A JCP/200 Hawkins Dr.
Iowa City, IA 52242
(319) 356-8475 FAX (319) 356-3862

christi...@uiowa.edu

Boylan P

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Dec 18, 1996, 3:00:00 AM12/18/96

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Cris:

I don't know what the situation is in the USA but in the UK it is (as
always!) the TAX MAN who decides! Anything more than 100 years old is
exempt from Value Added Tax (sales tax) - except on the dealer's profit
margin; anything other than books (which are exempt from VAT anyway) under
100 years old is taxable at the full 17 1/2 % of the actual sale price.

The leading London antiques fairs have authentication etc. committees
which try to enforce the 100 year rule (except in the case of works of
art), though less discerning local antique fairs and shops are often
found with Art Deco of the 1920s and 1930s, and even so-called
"collectables" of the 1950s, 1960s or even more recent times!

Patrick J. Boylan
City University, Frobisher Crescent, Barbican, London EC2Y 8HB, UK;
phone: +44-171-477.8750, fax:+44-171-477.8887; e-mail: P.Bo...@city.ac.uk
World Wide Web site: http://www.city.ac.uk/artspol/index.html

On Wed, 18 Dec 1996, Christine Wolf wrote:

> Date: Wed, 18 Dec 1996 09:26:04 -0600
> From: Christine Wolf <Christi...@UIOWA.EDU>

>
> This is a question on a personal note. I recently bought an oak table and
> six chairs and I'm wondering if anyone can tell me what criteria make
> furniture antiques? For example, how old does it have to be? I know there
> are good quality antiques and poor, but at the moment I just need the basic
> criteria.
>
> Thanks in advance and happy holidays to all!
>
> Cris Wolf

kk

Ivy Strickler

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Dec 18, 1996, 3:00:00 AM12/18/96

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>This is a question on a personal note. I recently bought an oak table and
>six chairs and I'm wondering if anyone can tell me what criteria make
>furniture antiques? For example, how old does it have to be? I know there
>are good quality antiques and poor, but at the moment I just need the basic
>criteria.
>

The standard has traditionally been 100 years or more, but I see the term
applied now to things from the '30s.

Ivy Fleck Strickler Phone 215-895-1637
Drexel University Fax 215-895-4917
Nesbitt College of Design Arts stri...@dunx1.ocs.drexel.edu
Philadelphia, PA 19104

"Never forget that life is like a Fellini movie, and you're getting to see
it for free."

Robert A. Baron

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Dec 18, 1996, 3:00:00 AM12/18/96

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At 09:26 AM 12/18/96 -0600, C.Wolf wrote:

>I'm wondering if anyone can tell me what criteria make
>furniture antiques?

In today's (12/18.96) "Metropolitan Diary," a regular Wednesday feature in
"The Living Section" of the New York Times, is an item reporting the text
of a sign seen in a Northport, Long Island antiques shop:

"END-OF-YEAR CLEARANCE SALE,
MUST MAKE ROOM FOR 1897 MODELS."

I hope that answers your question. <g>

Robert Baron

Craig1708

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Dec 20, 1996, 3:00:00 AM12/20/96

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The general way to judge is by the US Customs law passed in 1932 that said
items must be 100 years old to qualify for duty-free. But thats pretty
general.

**************************************************************************
Craig Deller
The Deller Conservation Group Ltd
Geneva, Illinois
USA
crai...@aol.com "Conservators make it last longer"
http://home.aol.com/DELLERCON
***************************************************************************