When I closed my physical gallery in 2008, it was with great trepidation that I made the decision to continue marketing art on the internet through a virtual gallery on Ruby Lane. Art is such a personal decision; I was concerned that viewing an image on a computer screen would not be sufficient to move potential collectors to purchase. What I have experienced has been contrary to my fears.

Previous Ruby Lane Authenticating Antiques and Collectibles specific general collecting category blogs focused on authenticating ceramics and glass. This blog covers furniture. Subsequent blogs will deal with the authentication of metals, painting, and paper.

Most Americans have grown up watching and loving cartoons. Needless to say, I am one of them, so you can only imagine my joy when I discovered that I could actually have a "real" Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse painting or cel, as they are known, to decorate my walls. Animation art can sell anywhere between $5.00 upwards into the tens of thousands. So what makes one piece more valuable than others?
 

I have been brave enough to join my friend's adventure of opening an antique mall! She asked if I'd like a booth, knowing that I couldn't resist. Thinking wisely, about the antique shows cases  gathering dust in my basement. Still, having many displays from my antique shop that was closed in 2008,  great ideas formed in my head...

This is not strictly speaking an antiques question, but in that many of us are dealing in décor, it is an important question to have answered. I have selected dining room chandelier because it is the most common need. You can apply the principals I will delineate to all ceiling fixtures in any location around a home.

You often hear that an artist is listed, so what does this mean? Basically, it means that an artist has attained a certain level of recognition.

Poor man’s bronze. Spelter. White Metal. Zinc. French Bronze…Don’t let these interchangeable terms scare you away from collecting some very fine examples of art from that wonderful Art Deco Era, the 20’s through the 40’s.

Many artists worked in both bronze and spelter mediums to increase their market and make their pieces available to the ‘common man’. Pieces were often artist signed, either on the statue or on the base. . Common subject matter was a female or gymnast, along with animals. Diana the Huntress was a favorite theme of many artists, often paired with a dog or a deer. The women tended to be svelte, with long muscular limbs. They were often nude or semi-clad. The haute coulture featured gauntlet waists, rusching, gold colored designs on the clothing and elaborate hats.

Antique and Vintage Glass Anyone? My siblings and I are in the process of sifting, sorting, dividing and selling my parents’ estate, and OH MY GOODNESS, what a job it is!!! Mother had already begun trying to prioritize and clear out lots of things so we wouldn’t have to go through so much, and she did help us A LOT with papers and records that she shredded. However, I don’t believe I have ever seen as much pressed glass, patterned glass, depression glass and painted glass under one roof!

[Author’s Note: This is the first in a series of blogs focusing on the authentication of antiques and collectibles. After exploring the general principles of authentication, subsequent blogs will discuss authentication issues specific to ceramics, furniture, glass, and other collecting categories.]

Authentication when applied to an antique or collectible is the process used to determine an object’s origin and history. It extends beyond identifying an object’s form. While a chair is a chair, this statement provides only limited information about the chair.

The fan itself may not be as old as time, but flirtation certainly must be. Was Adam enticed to eat the apple when Eve's flirtatious eyes fluttered above a palm frond, gently wafting a cooling breeze in the sunlit Garden of Eden?

Practical, ceremonial or decorative - fans were in use more than 3000 years ago and the form has changed, but surprisingly little, over those thousands of years. Fans of a simple design were discovered in 1922 inside Tutankhamen's tomb. A fixed palmate screen fan, mounted on a long handle and wafted by Cleopatra's slaves, an ancient Chinese hand fan made of beaten gold, an extravagant peacock feather fan from Asia 500 years BC - all would be instantly recognizable as symbols of luxury and rank but with a practical purpose too.