What Is An Antique

(via Wahroongai News, Volume 32, Number 5, May 1998)

The following definition of an antique was discovered in the first newsletter of 1998 from the Queensland Antique Collector’s Society Inc.

Definition of Antiques
One of the strengths of the Society is the very wide range of subjects that can be covered under the definition of antiques, e.g. porcelain, silver, furniture, art. What is clear is that definition (of what is an antique) has suffered changes.

Until quite recently, the accepted opinion in England was that antique applied to articles made before about 1830, i.e. not including Victorian items. In view of the factors of supply and demand, English dealers have accepted the international convention that antique means more than 100 years old. This includes basically all Victorian pieces, but excludes Edwardian and most Art Nouveau.

American dealers have taken the view that antique refers to pieces made more than 30 years ago, and so would include original material of the Beatles and Elvis Presley. While this concept may appear startling to traditional conventions, the definition can change depending on personal perspective.

In other cultures, goods may be described as a little bit old referring to wares that were in use by grandparents. There are collectors who seek items because their grandma had one of those. The differing age of collectors, from 20 to 70 plus means that the time-frame for defining the previous two generations becomes flexible.

Most antique dealers take pragmatic view that antique refers to articles no longer made, for which there is demand. If pushed, they may limit the scope of the definition to items made before the Second World War, thus including Art Deco.