For a collector, antique
and collectible furniture have great value and hold
great charm. Such pieces can date back to the early part
of the eighteenth century and because of the fact that
many machines were not yet invented back in those days,
such furniture was often crafted and carved by hand.
Hand craftsmanship, of that era was also very painfully
achieved and every attention was paid to details of the
piece of furniture. Often such furniture was tinted or
painted to create popular effects of the era.
Naturally, the beauty of such a piece may be tarnished
by stains or discoloring over the years. To recover
their original charm, a collector or art aficionado,
would undoubtedly want to re-touch the piece or
‘restore’ it. Whether you own antique office furniture,
antique furniture lighting, antique hardware furniture
or any type of antique furniture for that matter, you
can - and certainly should - turn to an expert for the
purpose of restoring antique furniture to its original
magnificence.
One can find hardware for antique furniture restoration
at a variety of antique furniture shops and restoration
companies. There is no guarantee of course that the
company would be able to find the required replacement
hardware for antique furniture to suit your needs.
However, experts in the field do usually know where and
how to go about tracing hardware for antique furniture
if you can find the patience to rely on them.
Some of the tasks that a restoration expert may
undertake may include removing fingerprint stains that
the furniture has incurred during handling. This is
especially common for framed pictures but may also be
visible on other pieces of furniture because of the
process of aging. Scratches and cracks need to be gently
and cautiously smoothened out and occasionally the piece
of furniture may require a new coat of varnish.
Depending on the piece, the restorer may have to use
various special techniques to paint the antique using
special tools and brushes.
The expert may need to remove particles of dust and hair
that may have accumulated in the original varnish. For
such processes, experts in the field of antique
furniture restoration must be equipped with a variety of
chemicals and tools, many of which are outdated and hard
to come by. Such tools that may be antique in their own
nature as well are very expensive and hence restoring
some furniture pieces can be a costly procedure.
In addition to the tools, the expert must have an eye
for antique furniture and would usually have an
extensive knowledge about the furniture from various
eras in History and from various places in the world. It
is only through the use of the combination of such
skills that the expert can restore the antique furniture
piece.
Antique furniture pieces from all around the world may
include not just chairs and tables but also antique
clocks, candelabras, ash-trays and chests and boxes of
different types. Such antiques would also be made from a
host of materials like tin, copper, wood, metal and
porcelain..
IMPORTANT NOTE: Items over hundred years are not permitted to be taken out of India without the permission of the Director General, The Archaeological survey of India, Janpath, New Delhi - 110 011.