In our modern society, we have become dependent upon technology and are heading towards Modernisation constantly. But through this period a thing called Antiques usually takes us back to nostalgia of the early period or the past. These antiques are what make us aware about the old ages and its importance. Their unique designs and performances show us how the people in the history adapted creativity and durability in their products. Such things which last long for more than 100 of years are termed as an antique. Moreover an Old saying: “Old is Gold” is proved correct and the proof can be observed by these. What could be more fascinating having evidences or say witnesses o telling us thousands of stories linked in the erstwhile. Latin word “antiquus” means old or ancient. A true antique are items perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance and often are at least 100 years old or older. Though the word antique is usually referred looselyto describe and object to be old. An antique is usually an item that is collected or desirable because of its age, beauty, rarity, condition, utility, personal emotional connection, and 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 are not as old as The Antiques. That Differences between Antique and a Vintage item.
Antiques are usually objects with significant craftsmanship and are collectible, such as a desk or an early automobile. An antiquarian is a person who collects and studies antiquities or things of the past. What make a person collect these things are their astonishing designs which prove to be more creative and wonderful than the modern ones.
In the United States, the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act defined antiques as, “…works of art (except rugs and carpets made after the year 1700), collections in illustration of the progress of the arts, works in bronze, marble, terra cotta, parian, pottery, or porcelain, artistic antiquities and objects of ornamental character or educational value which shall have been produced prior to the year 1830. These definitions were intended to allow people of that time to distinguish between genuine antique pieces, vintage items, and collectible objects.
There are many categories of popular antiques. Some of the more popular types include furniture, cars, and firearms, as well as farm equipment, toys, art works, jewelry, carpets, and examples of all types of tools and earlier technologies.
ANTIQUES ARE NOT JUST OBJECTS
This is to view and treat art or antiques only as commodities – in doing that, we’re ignoring the other meanings of the word “value”. Moving away from money and standards art and antiques help to record and preserve our collective culture and history. They are, effectively, a living history and tell a story of how life used to be, of the changing demands, desires, fashions, tastes and activities of society at any given time. Nostalgia is a key driver in collecting, from Antique telephones to Antique Home décor items.
Identify important artists, designers or makers (or even styles) whose work they believe is historically important and will be reappraised at some point in the future. The interest drawn can then generate desirability and create a market. Some even force this to happen through books or retrospective exhibitions, but that usually requires vast investments of time and money, and is risky. At best it will work, but it often only creates a short-lived spike in interest, at which point the collector or dealer will typically sell out and cash in, unless they have fallen in love with the items.
Craftsmanship is another important angle. Although there are exceptions, it really is true that they “don’t make them like they used to”. A Victorian mahogany chest of drawers that has survived more than a century of use will probably do so for another century. This example shows how collecting antiques can be good for the planet. In 2010, an independent scientific report showed that across its long life, our notional antique chest of drawers had a carbon footprint 16 times smaller than that of one made today. Thus Antiques are not just a solution to Beauty of our houses but also does their part in saving the environment. We observe this many times that these antiques are really durable and astonishing, which is proved by the Fact that they are Antiques!!
It’s these other meanings of “value” that
drives most collectors. You cannot place a financial figure on the reasons for
buying or collecting, sometimes a person simply loves an item.
IMPORTANCE OF ANTIQUES
Regarding “important” specifically, it means an item that is exceptional in its class. Even within a painter’s lifetime range of work, there are “important” works and less important works. An important work might be one that was considered the painter’s finest, representing the pinnacle of his or her work. Or a painting that showed a transition to what would become the artists’ signature style.
In other collectibles, provenance can make an item important. For example, an otherwise ordinary group of medals awarded to a Welsh airman, worth maybe $500 in today’s market, sold for $6000 because the airman was the first pilot ever shot down by legendary German air ace Baron Manfred von Richthofen. Thus not just the crafts, but the story behind an Antique gives it its real importance.
Today, the term has become watered down. Important has come to mean simply “very nice” or “of very high quality.”