An antique (Latin: antiquus; "old", "ancient") is an old collectable item.

It is collected or desirable because of its age, beauty, rarity, condition, utility, personal emotional connection, and/or other uni ue features. It is an ob!ect that represents a pre"ious era or time period in human society. It is common practice to define "anti ue" as applying to ob!ects at least #$$ years old. Anti ues are usually ob!ects that sho% some degree of craftsmanship&or a certain attention to design, such as a des' or an early automobile. (hey are bought at anti ue shops, estate sales, auction houses, online auctions, and other "enues, or estate inherited. Anti ue dealers often belong to national trade associations, many of %hich belong to )I*+A, a confederation of art and anti ue associations across ,# countries that represents -,$$$ dealers.
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# 0urpose #.# 0e!orati"ely , )hina 1 2efinition 3 Anti uing - Anti ue furniture 4 5ee also 6 7eferences

Purpose[edit]
Pejoratively[edit]
(he term "anti ue" is pe!orati"e in some instances to imply that something is out of date.

China[edit]
(he current )hinese go"ernment has its o%n definitions of %hat it considers antique. As of the )ultural 7e"olution and )hina8s opening trade to other countries, the go"ernment has tried to protect the definition of a )hinese anti ue. (he pro"enance of most )hinese Anti ues already included placement of a red "chop" placed there by the ne9t o%ner. (raditionally, only )hinese

people of prominence had their o%n chops. :9perts can identify pre"ious o%ners of a picture by reading the chops. (he pre;re"olution )hinese go"ernment tried to assist the collector of true )hinese anti ues by re uiring their 2epartment of Anti uities to pro"ide a go"ernmental chop on the bottom of a )hinese anti ue. (his chop is "isible as a piece of red sealing %a9 that bears the go"ernment chop to "erify the date of the anti ue. <nfortunately, chop artists are becoming a thing of the past, as many follo%ed the ne% go"ernment to (ai%an after the %ar and died off unable to find ualified apprentices. (here are fe% anti ue rugs of )hinese origin, as most true anti ue rugs come from Iran and Ira . (hese rugs are not considered anti ues by the <nited 5tates )ustoms 5er"ice unless made prior to #6$$. =o%e"er, the go"ernments of Iran and Ira traditionally classify rugs o"er -$ years old as semi-antique and rugs o"er #$$ years old as antique.

Definition[edit]

An anti ue <.5. mailbo9

(he common definition of antique is a collectible ob!ect such as a piece of furniture or %or' of art that has a high "alue because of its considerable age, yet it does in fact "ary depending on the source, product, and year. >otor "ehicles are an e9ception to the #$$;year rule. (he customary definition of anti ue re uires that an item be at least #$$ years old and in original, unaltered condition&%hich e9cludes most cars. (herefore, cars are generally considered anti ue if ,- years old or more. ()ars can be registered as "classic" %hen ,$ years old.).citation needed/ (his is not a uni"ersally accepted idea, but rather a con"ention among car collectors and enthusiasts.

In the <nited 5tates, the #?1$ 5moot;=a%ley (ariff Act defined anti ues as, "...%or's of art (e9cept rugs and carpets made after the year #6$$), collections in illustration of the progress of the arts, %or's in bron@e, marble, terra cotta, parian, pottery, or porcelain, artistic anti uities and ob!ects of ornamental character or educational "alue %hich shall ha"e been produced prior to the year #A1$.".citation needed/ #A1$ %as the appro9imate beginning ofmass production in the <nited 5tates. (hese definitions %ere intended to allo% people of that time to distinguish bet%een genuine anti ue pieces,"intage items, and collectible ob!ects. (he alternati"e term, antiquities. commonly refers to the remains of ancient art and e"eryday items from anti uity, %hich themsel"es are often archaeological artifacts. An antiquarian is a person %ho collects and studies anti uities or things of the past.

Antiquing[edit]

A "intage tra"el gear seller at >archB 2auphine, 5aint;+uen, 0aris

Antiquing is the act of shopping, identifying, negotiating, or bargaining for anti ues. 0eople buy items for personal use, gifts, or profit. 5ources for anti uing include garage sales and yard sales, estate sales, resort to%ns, anti ue districts, collecti"es, and international auction houses. *ote that antiquing also means the craft of ma'ing an ob!ect appear anti ue through distressing or applying an anti ue;loo'ing paint applications. +ften, indi"iduals get confused bet%een these handmade distressed "intage or modern items and true anti ues. If you can not tell the difference bet%een the t%o, you may find yourself paying a high amount of money for something that has little "alue in the anti uing industry.

Antique furniture[edit]

Curniture anti ues from the )hinese Liao dynasty

Main article: Antique furniture Anti ue furniture is a popular area of anti ues because furniture has ob"ious practical uses as %ell as collector "alue. >any collectors use pieces in their homes, and care for them %ith the hope that they hold their "alue or appreciate. (his is in contrast to buying ne% furniture, %hich typically depreciates from the moment of purchase. Anti ue furniture includes dining tables, chairs, bureaus, chests etc. (he most common %oods are mahogany, oa', pine, %alnut, androse%ood. )hinese anti ue furniture is often made %ith elm, a %ood common to many regions in Asia. :ach %ood has a distincti"e grain and color. >any modern pieces of furniture use laminate or %ood "eneer to achie"e the same effect. (here are a number of different styles of anti ue furniture depending on %hen and %here it %as made. 5ome e9amples of stylistic periods are; Arts D )rafts, Eeorgian, 7egency,American 0astoral, and Fictorian.

See also[edit]

List of 2el >ar Anti ue 5ho% (he 5an Crancisco Call Anti ues 5ho% 2olly Gohnson Anti ue and Art 5ho%

References[edit]

(his article incorporates te9t from a publication no% in the public domain: )hisholm, =ugh, ed. (#?##). Encyclopdia Britannica (##th ed.). )ambridge <ni"ersity 0ress

)ategories:

Anti ues )ollecting