Is your thrift store treasure a forgery or a hidden gem?
While there have traditionally been dedicated aficionados of vintage and antique furniture, the COVID-19 pandemic's furniture shortage and subsequent delivery delays have made higher-end secondhand buying much more competitive. And, as a result of the increasing demand, there has been a torrent of forgeries, argues Sydney Gore in an article for Architectural Digest.
Even if you're thinking about buying vintage furniture because you like the look of it and/or it matches your needs and don't care who manufactured it, you should avoid buying a copycat because they can be poorly constructed. And if you're paying high price for an authentic Knoll chair, for example, you'll want to be sure it's genuine.
Fortunately, Gore's article includes advice on recognizing fake old furniture (along with a bunch of other helpful and interesting information). Here are a few things to think about the next time you go furniture shopping.
Look for stickers that say 'Made in Italy.'
According to Gore, "'Made in Italy' stickers are the new 'Made in China' stamp." Of course, this isn't to suggest that each old furniture with a "Made in Italy" label is a fake or of bad quality, but Italy has been a centre of making unauthorized reproductions of high-end furniture in recent years. If you see a sticker, do some research to find out where that particular designer's furniture is created.
Do not be afraid to ask numerous questions.
This one should go without saying, but whether you're buying vintage furniture online (through sites like Chairish, 1stdibs, Instagram, or Facebook Marketplace) or in-person, make sure you ask all the right questions. Don't be concerned about sounding like you don't know what you're talking about; in fact, the opposite is true.
"Any professional furniture dealer should be able to convincingly justify why one of their pieces is authentic and indeed a vintage piece," told Architectural Digest the unidentified individual behind the @northwest mcm wholesale Instagram account. "If a vendor mentions a 1stdibs listing or pulls up the same item from another store, keep asking questions." This does not constitute authentication."
Inquire about the finish.
The @northwest mcm wholesale person recommends asking one key question to help you determine whether case goods or bedroom furniture is authentic: "Is the finish original?"
"I would stop if the seller boasts that an item has been polished or entirely repaired," he says. It's not that restoring furniture is always a bad thing, but there's a difference between doing it "to replicate the original factory finish as closely as possible using current means" and doing it "at the whim of a naive dealer wanting to make a quick cash."
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SOURCE: lifehacker
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