To Learn about Antiques, Turn the Page (not this one)

By Leslie Banker

Having the confidence and the experience to buy antiques requires some practice - it doesn't just happen overnight. How do you know the piece you fancy is worth its price? How do you know what style it is? How do you know where to even begin?

Developing a base of knowledge and an eye for antiques takes time. The best place to start honing your antique eye is at auctions, antique stores, and estate sales. Pay close attention to the condition, the construction, the price, the provenance, and the design of what you see. The more you look, the more you'll understand which pieces are unusual and which are bound to turn up around every corner. The more you see, the better your eye will be.

It's always a good idea to work with and talk to antiques dealers who know a lot about what they sell. Such dealers can share their knowledge and explain interesting collections, stories, and perspectives.

Whether it is art, antiques, or some sort of collectible item, loving what you buy is the most important thing. Buy something because you find it beautiful, not because someone tells you it's valuable or a good investment. At the end of the day, you'll be living with the object and if the value doesn't hold (or go through the roof) you want to be left with at least something you genuinely enjoy.

Finally, there are a host of great books that will educate you about the antique market process. Below are a few recommendations.

The author, television host, and antiques expert Judith Miller has written over 80 books on the subject of antiques and collectibles. These are packed with information and will be useful to the person gathering a broad base of knowledge about antiques. Some of her titles that might be of particular interest are:

Antiques Investigator: Tips and Tricks to Help You Find the Real Deal by Judith Miller (Dorling Kindersley) gives a reader detailed information on how to identify the different styles of antique furniture and collectibles - helping the reader determine, for example, whether a piece is Rococo or Baroque. With many useful photographs, the book shows an almost compulsive variety of leg, foot, and veneer styles that a piece of furniture might have. With information on what to look for in an antique and different methods of antique construction, this book is a thorough primer that will yield smart purchases.

Antiques Price Guide 2008 by Judith Miller (Dorling Kindersley) is an updated guide to the antiques and collectibles market with sections covering ceramics, furniture, glass, metal-ware, clocks, jewelry, textiles, decorative arts and more. Comprehensive, the book has hundreds (perhaps over a thousand) of entries with a photographic example of each object (a particular grandfather clock, oriental rug, toy car, or work from a Modern designer, for example) and the price range for this item at recent auctions.

A good encyclopedia of antiques will help you to distinguish a bergere from a fauteuil.

The Bulfinch Illustrated Encyclopedia of Antiques by Paul Atterbury and Lars Tharp (Bulfinch) is out of print, but useful if you can find a copy - Amazon sells them used. It's got chapters on ceramics, furniture, glassware, silver, clocks, watches, and Oriental ware. It includes historical information, timelines, and more than 1,000 photographs. The good thing about antique encyclopedias is that the definitions don't quickly go out of date - a seemingly antique book on antiques might not have up to date info on prices or what's trendy. If the Bulfinch encyclopedia isn't readily available, there are other books out there that cover the basics. In the furniture chapter of The Pocket Decorator (Universe) the book I co-wrote with my mother, interior designer Pamela Banker, there are illustrations along with ideas for how to use some classic antique forms. The rest of the book covers the basics of decorating terminology from architectural details, motifs, lighting, upholstery, wall-covering and window treatments.

The Elements of Style: An Encyclopedia of Domestic Architectural Detail edited by Stephen Calloway, Elizabeth Cromley, and Alan Powers (Firefly Books) is a great reference for architectural styles and details. While the focus is on buildings, these same details are also repeated on furniture and decorative items from the same period and style. The book also offers some historical context for the various styles, which is interesting and helpful to know.

Designing the Hamptons: Portraits of Interiors, edited by Diana Lind (Edizioni Press) is a good resource for inspiration. It's filled with photographs of Hamptons projects by interior designers Thom Filicia, Thomas O'Brien, Jamie Drake, Vincent Wolf, Jonathan Adler and Simon Doonan, among others. In a wide variety of styles - traditional to modern, casual to formal - we see prime examples of elegant design in the Hamptons. From a gilded console table, to Noguchi's akari lighting, to a simple country bench, perusing these photos will generate ideas on how antiques can be used when decorating - even if the project is a bit more low-key than some of the ones featured in the book.

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