General Interest Article On Identifying Materials in Antiques

[drcy]

The following is a short 'total beginner's' article I wrote on how materials are identified in antiques-- ceramics, glass, precious metal. The article is illustrated and can be downloaded and printed. It is 26 pages, so is neither a long nor a short read.


The article in pdf (can be downloaded, read online and printed out)


From the introduction:

"Materials (ceramics, wood, metal, fur, plastic, paper, etc) is a massive, ongoing area of study and research. There have been volumes of literature written just on diamonds, a university professor may spend his career studying paper and a New York art gallery may sell only art made of glass.

For the collector, the use in being able to identify and date materials in art, memorabilia and collectibles should be obvious. An '1660s toy boat' can't be made out of 1920s plastic. An auctioned '1800' map has to be made from paper made from the the period. A coin made of gold clearly will be worth more than one made from similar looking copper. Many fakes, forgeries and genuine items are in part identified by identifying the material.

Beyond authentication and fake detection, many people are simply interested in knowing what an item is made out of. Whether an old paperweight is made out of cranberry glass or lucite, that's nice to know. Whether the painting on the wall is oil paint or encaustic, that an interesting fact to know. It's a bit like enjoying identifying birds at the park. Identifying materials can be a hobby and enjoyment in and of itself.

This very brief, printable article is a beginner's identification and guide to some common materials found in antiques, including plastics, paper, leather and metals.

As a primer, this is not intend to cover everything nor make the reader into the next museum curator or auction house expert. It sticks to more commonly found materials and basic information. Little of this information in this book is new or novel. The key is it assembles the different materials into one document."