Materials, Construction, and Marks
Read American antiques through woods, clay, metal, glass, textiles, paper, tool marks, surfaces, and maker evidence.
American Woods and Joinery
Primary and secondary woods, grain, oxidation, shrinkage, dovetails, mortise-and-tenon joints, nails, screws, and machine marks.
Painted Surfaces and Patina
Layering, oxidation, wear, craquelure, grime, touch-up, stripping, overpaint, milk paint, and surface history.
Hardware and Fasteners
Hand-wrought nails, cut nails, wire nails, screws, hinges, locks, pulls, casters, replacement patterns, and dating limits.
Ceramic Bodies and Glazes
Earthenware, stoneware, porcelain, clay color, glaze, firing, kiln furniture, decoration, repairs, and restoration.
Glassmaking Evidence
Pontils, mold seams, tool marks, bubbles, color, cutting, pressing, engraving, factory patterns, and reproductions.
Silver Marks
Maker, retailer, standard, city, assay, patent, pattern, monogram, pseudo-mark, and composite-object research.
Pewter Touchmarks
Touchplates, maker initials, ownership marks, casting seams, repairs, imported forms, and attribution caution.
Iron: Cast, Wrought, and Fabricated
Casting seams, sprues, forging, file marks, rivets, welds, paint, oxidation, and industrial reproduction.
Textile Fibers and Construction
Wool, linen, cotton, silk, weave, stitch, dye, batting, backing, machine sewing, repairs, and light damage.
Paper, Ink, and Printing
Laid and wove paper, watermarks, rag content, wood pulp, letterpress, engraving, lithography, handwriting, and facsimiles.
Leather and Hide
Tanning, tooling, stitching, hardware, dressings, dryness, red rot, repairs, and replacement components.
Bone, Horn, Shell, and Ivory
Identification limits, Schreger lines, grain, dyes, age claims, federal and state restrictions, and ethical handling.
Brass, Bronze, and Copper
Casting, spinning, hammering, brazing, solder, lacquer, plating, patina, verdigris, and replacement parts.
Stone, Marble, and Slate
Quarry source, tooling, polish, inscriptions, weathering, break repair, composite bases, and architectural reuse.
Maker Labels, Stamps, and Brands
Paper labels, stencil marks, impressed stamps, fire brands, signatures, serial numbers, retailer labels, and false associations.
Construction and Tool Marks
Hand-tool and machine-tool evidence, saw marks, plane tracks, layout lines, lathe work, routing, sanding, and chronology.
Repairs, Replacements, and Restoration
Splices, patches, new feet, reset hardware, refinishing, reupholstery, inpainting, fills, married parts, and disclosure.
Provenance and Documentary Evidence
Receipts, inventories, family records, labels, photographs, institutional records, auction history, and chain-of-custody limits.
Cultural Property and Indigenous Material
Federal and tribal law, NAGPRA-related concerns, sacred and funerary objects, export issues, provenance, and respectful research.
Material Hazards
Lead paint, arsenic pigments, mercury, uranium glass, radium dials, mold, pesticides, degraded celluloid, and safe handling.