Antique furniture is usually worth more than a reproduction, but many pieces are hard to date by sight. No single feature proves age. Look for several consistent clues instead. Start with the hidden parts, since makers rarely spent good wood or careful work where no one would see it.
Check the hidden wood first
Look at the back, the inside of the drawers, and the underside. Earlier makers often used a common secondary wood in these places, rather than the good wood on the front.
- If the hidden wood matches the visible wood exactly, the piece may be a reproduction.
- Plywood, particleboard, or MDF in hidden areas points to later manufacture, usually the 20th century or after. Telling solid wood from veneer shows how to spot these cores.
- Heavy staining on hidden surfaces can be an attempt to imitate age. Raw, unstained wood underneath is more typical of an older piece.
Look at the joinery
- Hand-cut dovetails are typically uneven, with narrow pins and visible scribe lines.
- Machine-cut dovetails are uniform and evenly spaced. Machine cutting became common in the second half of the 1800s.
- Perfectly straight dovetail lines usually point to machine work. A single joint doesn’t settle it, though.
- Mortise-and-tenon joints and wooden pegs are common in older furniture. Reproductions can copy them, so they’re clues, not proof.
Check the fasteners
Nails and screws give useful, rough dates:
- Hand-wrought nails with rose heads are generally older than about 1800.
- Cut nails were used roughly from the 1790s to the 1890s.
- Wire nails became common after about 1890.
- Early hand-made screws have off-center slots and blunt tips. Gimlet-pointed screws appear after about 1850, and Phillips-head screws date from the 1930s or later.
- Staples in a piece usually point to modern manufacture.
Study the saw and plane marks
- Straight, parallel saw marks suggest a pit or sash saw. Arc-shaped marks point to a later circular saw.
- Hand planing leaves faint ripples, most visible in raking light, on drawer bottoms and backs.
- Surfaces that look perfectly even and uniform often came from machines.
Check the wear
Real wear sits where hands and feet touch: the arms, the tops of stretchers, drawer runners, and the feet. Undersides and backs should show less wear. Reproductions tend to show consistent, evenly applied wear, while genuine pieces show varied wear from years of use. Even, uniform distressing is a warning sign.
Look at shape and symmetry
Hand-made pieces are rarely perfectly symmetrical. Carvings and turned details show small differences. Wood shrinks across the grain, so a round antique table often ends up slightly oval. A perfectly circular top can suggest the top has been replaced.
Read the labels with care
Maker’s labels, stamps, and manufacturing tags can help date a piece. Labels are sometimes faked or moved, though, so check each one against the construction and wood. Don’t rely on a label alone.
Watch for replaced parts and marriages
Extra holes or outlines around pulls can show that hardware has been replaced. A top and base that don’t match in wood, color, or construction may be a marriage, meaning the pieces were put together from different sources.
Reproductions aren’t always fakes
A reproduction is made in an earlier style, usually without trying to pass as old. Many carry a label showing when and where they were made. A fake is designed to be mistaken for an antique. Some 20th-century reproductions are collectible in their own right.
Common misconceptions
- Worm holes prove age. Holes can be drilled, and old holes can turn up in reused wood.
- Dark color means old. Stain and finish can produce that look.
- Any dovetail means handmade. Machine-cut joints can be neat, too.
- One clue settles it. Look for several consistent features.
Next steps
Once you’re fairly confident a piece is genuine, check its worth with the old furniture value guide. If it needs work, the antique furniture restoration guide explains the order of work to follow.