Periods: Helping Define Antique Vintage Furniture Purchases

When it comes to picking antique vintage furniture, an understanding on the major styles defining major furniture periods would greatly aid one’s antique vintage furniture hunt. From being able to identify Gothic from Elizabethan, to Pilgrim to Jacobean, a level of understanding of the defined styles of the times the antique vintage furniture pieces were originally made would greatly enhance an antique vintage furniture hunt, making the whole antiquing activity much more rewarding.

Here is a breakdown of the popular style definitions defining the major furniture movements. One doesn’t necessarily have to memorize these figures, but simply understanding them could make purchasing that antique vintage furniture piece quite a purchase.

The Major Furniture Periods of many Antique Vintage Furniture Pieces one would Encounter

Gothic – Mostly defined by medieval elements of design, gothic dating antique vintage furniture pieces are characterized by counterbalancing buttresses, an emphasis on vertical elements, as well as pointed arches.

Renaissance – Basically, antique vintage furniture boasting detailed arabesque carvings, as well as horizontal emphasis define the style of this period, which is basically a “counter-reaction” to the whole basis of the Gothic style.

Pilgrim – Function is given more emphasis with antique vintage furniture pieces from this period, with 17th Century English Country Styles dominating the overall visual value of the pieces.

Louis XIII’s Reign – Antique vintage furniture from this period is defined with applied baroque styles, with emphasis on cartouches, spirals, and gildings. Fancy would be one word fitting to describe antique vintage furniture from this period.

Louis XIV’s Reign – Antique vintage furniture dating to the reign of the sun king is defired for its Marquetry inlaid furniture types, as well as the grandiose sizes of these antique vintage furniture pieces.

Baroque – With antique vintage furniture pieces, a decorative rectilinear style often defines the style element utilized in its design. Flamboyant and heavy, antique vintage furniture from this time period stands to be rather fancy, with elaborate details.

So there you have it, the more common antique vintage furniture major furniture period’s applied styles defining their age and ancestry.

Again, one doesn’t necessarily have to memorize them one by one. A clear grasp on the elements of style defining a noted time period would greatly enhance one’s quest for antique vintage furniture, giving antique-ers a firm grasp of just how old the furniture in question actually is.

After all, the least knowledge one should have when owning antique vintage furniture, is to at least know what date it hails from.