At first glance, this looks like an authentic Empire chest. It is a fine intarsia decoration, old-looking fittings, good varnish etc. To a new collector, this would appear to be made around 1850 but buyer beware.  This is a new product!

This chest is actually made around 1950.

How can you tell?  A closer look behind the chest is the giveaway.

The back of the chest and the bottom of the drawers are made of plywood.

Plywood is an older wood, but a real Empire chest would have a solid back and the drawers would be solid also.

Below are a few images to help you identify old from new:

Take a look at the back – does this look like a solid back?

Here is a reproduction drawer base in plywood.

Here is an old drawer base. (Neo Renaissance chest 1890 ) It is made of solid wood.

Antiques.com turned a year on Feb 1st 2011!  Thanks to all of our vendors for helping us to build our site into one of the best antiques sites on the web!  We’ve had more than 15oo dealers join in the fun so far, and we’re always looking for more.  We’re excited to offer over 80,000 items for sale on Antiques.com, but that number increases every day as more and more vendors sign up to be a part of our growing family.

To all of the people that visit Antiques.com looking for the perfect gift, trying to spruce up their home with a beautiful antique, or simply out of curiosity, thank you for coming!

And for everyone, vendors and antique aficionados alike, we’ve recently added a few features to our home page that we think you’ll enjoy!

– First, check out the Deal Of The Day – Each day we’ll offer a new deal from a vendor that is eager to give you a beautiful antique for a steal!

– Next, feast your eyes on the Cool Antique Of The Week – Each week we’ll show you something interesting from the site that is available to be purchased and fawned over by it’s new owner!

– And finally, have some fun with What Is This Antique? – Each week we’ll choose a new and interesting, if not a bit obscure, antique to feature for this game.  Take a guess, or several guesses, at what you think it is, and then each Monday we’ll publish the list of guesses submitted by everyone, along with the actual name and description of the antique.

Antiques.com strives to offer a wide variety of beautiful and interesting antiques, collectibles, and fine art pieces.  We’re looking forward to another stellar year where we add to our already impressive list of vendors and push our inventory to over 100,000 items!  So Happy Birthday To Us!  We’re looking forward to another fantastic year!

Early in my career, I had the opportunity to sell a one of a kind Tiffany lamp.  The thought of selling it at auction was the first decision made, because with a “one of a kind” you have no comparables in which to price it by.

By the end of the sale, the lamp had sold for $1,750,000 (plus buyer’s premium).  At the time, it was the 2^nd highest price achieved for a Tiffany lamp at auction. I thought to myself, “Who pays that kind of price to light a room?”

That question brings me to another one…Are reproductions something you should buy?  The answer is yes, and no.

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Reproduction is on left, original on right

Nothing strikes fear in the hearts of collectors like finding out that their beloved collectible is being reproduced. The mere mention of the ‘R’ word causes blood pressure to soar as prices plummet in even the most established collecting market. Yes, reproductions are the scourge of the collecting world. But is it ever acceptable to buy one?

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