7 Antique Questions You Need to Know the Answer to

VAn antique (Latinantiquus; ‘old’, ‘ancient’) is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that is old.[1] An antique is usually an item that is collected or desirable because of its age, beauty, rarity, condition, utility, personal emotional connection, and/or other unique features. It is an object that represents a previous era or time period in human history. Vintage and collectible are used to describe items that are old, but do not meet the 100-year criterion.[2]
                           
Antiques are usually objects of the decorative arts that show some degree of craftsmanship, collectability, or an attention to design, such as a desk or an early automobile. They are bought at antiques shops, estate sales, auction houses, online auctions, and other venues, or estate inherited. Antiques dealers often belong to national trade associations, many of which belong to CINOA, a confederation of art and antique associations across 21 countries that represents 5,000 dealers.

Antiquing

“Antiquing” redirects here. For the decorative arts technique,

Antiquing is the act of shopping, identifying, negotiating, or bargaining for antiques. People buy items for personal use, gifts, or profit. Sources for antiquing include garage sales and yard sales, estate sales, resort towns, antique districts, collectives, and international auction houses.

 

Note that antiquing also means the craft of making an object appear antique through distressing or using the antique-looking paint applications. Often, individuals get confused between these handmade distressed vintage or modern items and true antiques. Would-be antique collectors who are unaware of the differences may find themselves paying a high amount of money for something that would have little value if re-sold.

Img 01. Thinking Lady Face and Hourglass

Sickles and scythes

The American history of hay cutting tools begins with the reaping hook. Its slender, ultra sharp, half circle blade was employed in cutting grass for hay and it took some skill to use successfully. By the late 1800s the less artful sickle became the hay cutting tool of choice. The blade of the sickle was serrated and less circular than the reaping hook. The employment of this tool took less finesse and more of a slashing technique. It was used in conjunction with a wooden grass crook with which one held the standing grass steady, while swinging the sickle blade through the shank. Sickles found today will seem to have smooth blades to the modern viewer, as the serrations are usually worn away over time.

Scythes are grass cutting tools with long handles for mowing large amounts of hay. The graceful shape of the scythes of the late 18th and early 19th centuries hinted at the grace and art required for using the tool properly. The blade was straighter than the sickle’s, with an almost straight blade side and a gently curved blunt side. The handle, called a snath, would ordinarily be of a hardwood indigenous to the area of manufacture with small handholds, strategically placed, termed nibs. The earliest scythes had no nibs. Later scythes had two nibs. Used by an experienced hand, the scythe was an efficient tool, slicing through acres of green hay with methodic precision. Scythes were the prized possession of early Americans and, carefully protected from abuse and weather, they could last for centuries.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are makes.

×