Antique Collection

Settings for mounting stones come in a variety of models, each of which is designed to create a certain effect when the stone is mounted. In the case of this necklace, each rhinestone is inserted into a setting with a ring-shaped stem so that the stone can then be strung on a thin cord.

This tailored jewelry, made of gold- or silver-plated metal without any stones. It is sober in style and is primarily suited for wearing in the daytime by the kind of woman who likes something special but doesn’t want to call attention to herself.

At the beginning of the 19th century a tax of one shilling and sixpence was levied on an ounce of silver. In those days that was a fair sum of money. This resulted in a much wider use of Sheffield plate, a process developed by Thomas Bolsover in 1743. The process consisted of hammering, rubbing [...]

Strong “stone chinas” are earthenwares reinforced with ingredients such as pounded iron slag and flint, and were indeed stronger than the simple earthenwares which preceded them. These earlier pieces could only be fired to a temperature that was high enough to harden the basic material, but not to fuse it together to make it nonporous. [...]

Pottery and porcelain objects have been made for so many years, in so many cultures and in such a multitude of types that it is impossible to describe all the signs of falsification in any short essay. Generally speaking, however, the detection of a fake depends upon aberrations in manufacture, style and materials—as in any [...]

With the advent of mass production, decorative glassware could be seen on almost every table — and it now provides striking items for modern collectors on a budget.

Cabinets have been prized possessions since the 17th century, and are among the most visually arresting and impressive forms of furniture.
The earliest cabinets made in Britain, in the mid-17th century, were used to store precious belongings and papers.
By the end of the 17th century, however, they had become objects of distinction and elegance in their [...]

Classical Revival
Because vases were so prominently displayed in rooms, it was vital for manufacturers to keep abreast of the latest developments in architecture and style. In Britain from the 1760s that meant following the Neoclassical style of Robert Adam and his contemporaries.
It was the potter Josiah Wedgwood who was to transform and dominate the market [...]

Apart from imported Oriental pieces, vases were virtually unknown in Europe before the 17th century. Then they evolved an astonishing range of decorative forms.
Any flower arranger has been frustrated at the seemingly unsuitable shapes of vases for holding cut flowers. In fact, in the world of antiques and ceramics, that is not their main purpose. [...]