French Chandeliers: Bronze, Crystal and What to Check Before You Buy
French chandeliers in gilt bronze, rock crystal and porcelain: how the types differ, the dealers who took them apart for repair, replaced parts, and what to ask before you buy.
Yassine
Yassine runs The Patina Journal, carrying forward the eye of his father, Houssine, who spent forty years in the antiques trade in Casablanca. Read the story.
Bureau Plat and the French Writing Desk: A Short Guide to the Form
The French writing desk from the folding bureau brisé to the bureau plat and the drop-front secrétaire: how the forms differ, what gets copied or replaced, and what to ask before you buy.
The French Armoire: Its History, Regional Styles and What to Check
What an antique French armoire is: from the arms cupboard to the parade piece and the regional wedding armoire, how to read the wood and the hardware, and what to check before you buy.
The French Commode: A Guide to the Chest of Drawers, Its Periods and What to Look For
What an antique French commode is: the chest of drawers, how its form changed from the Régence to the Empire, the words used for it, and what to check in a period piece.
Tiffany Lamps: History, Models and What to Check Before You Trust the Name
Who made a Tiffany lamp, how the shades and bases were built, what the marks do and do not prove, and what to check before trusting the name.
Antique Chandeliers: Periods, Forms, Crystal and How to Identify One
How to read an antique chandelier: its parts and forms, the materials and glass terms, candle, gas and electric conversions, copies and replaced parts, condition, and where to look.
Japanese Interior Design: Principles, Materials and How to Get the Look
How Japanese interiors work, from the shoin room and the tearoom to shoji, natural materials and a single object on display, with notes on borrowing the ideas.
Japanese Furniture: Traditional Types, Woods and How They Were Used
How Japanese rooms used furniture, from low writing tables and merchant's chests to export lacquer cabinets, and what museum records say about woods, joinery and buying.
Eastlake Furniture: The Victorian Reform Style and How to Recognize It
What Eastlake furniture is, who Charles Eastlake was, and the three kinds sold under the name: furniture after his designs, the New York reform makers and factory versions.