All About Antiques

The 10 most commonly faked antiques and how to spot them: the tells, tests, and red flags that protect you from fakes.

Chinese archaic jade carvings use a core set of ritual shapes, each tied to specific cosmological meanings: the bi disc represents heaven, the cong tube represents earth, and the huang arc represents rank and mourning. Genuine archaic pieces, typically carved from nephrite rather than jadeite, date from the Neolithic through the Han dynasty (roughly 3500…

How to read Japanese signatures and seals on antiques: decode artist marks, reign seals, and maker’s stamps step by step.

Nephrite vs jadeite: the key distinction in Chinese jade collecting, how to tell them apart, and why it changes value.

Authentic Wallace Grand Baroque flatware, introduced in 1941 by designer William S. Warren, can be identified by its heavy, three-dimensional sterling silver construction featuring ornate acanthus leaves and pierced floral motifs. Genuine pieces will always bear the “WALLACE STERLING” stamp, ensuring they are solid .925 silver rather than silver-plated reproductions. Imagine you are at a…