A guide to buying an antique dresser

Find out what to look for in a true antique and be careful of good replicas. Here's a simple guide to tell an antique dresser from a newer one.

Look for antiques from a dealer

Buying antiques is something that not everyone knows about. Certain styles reveal who made them and when they were made. Antiques dealers know how to tell the difference. With this simple guide, it can be expected that a shopper can tell an antique from the newer stuff. Take a look at differing antique bedroom dresser styles to see which one best fits the space allowed for it and decide on a budget. Turn of the century furnishings and those from the Rococo Revival are identifiable by rounded corners. They’re made of mahogany, rosewood or walnut and the brass ring drawer-pulls being detailed with fruit or leaves and frequently detailed with serpentine designs. Laminated cabinets allowed for curvy surfaces.

From the Rococo Revival to the Renaissance Revival

Current furniture designers often replicate the Rococo Revival designs, but leave more flat carvings and they’re made of less expensive woods. They were originally produced from 1845 to 1865, but more designs were made between the Spanish Civil War and 1920. These later models were made of oak with faint stripes called “tiger” grain and became the sole type of wood used in later years. The oak dresser has swirly or twisted dresser legs that come down to animal feet on a ball which also help to identify the maker. Dressers from the Renaissance Revival era gained popularity from 1850 to 1870 for their cookie-cutter corners and a marble or bronze inlay on the dresser’s top. Walnut is the most-used medium during this time and they often have sported fluted legs and carved drawer handles.

Learn the styles before shopping for them

Mirrors were framed with intricate carvings that led down to carvings of a crest and arms, figures or human heads or lutes. Candle cups grace the sides of the more elaborate designs on the big, heavy furnishings that sometimes included small side-drawers on some pieces. Do an Internet search on dressers (or chest of drawers) from the 1890s to the 1950s to see the designs of that period when shopping. Do some research to find out if it is indeed an antique and not a clever replica. Antique dressers have a certain look. For instance, look for slightly faded wood and thin mirror glass that might be slightly bent. These are two indications of older, hand-crafted pieces. Look around to see what’s out there and be careful to find the maker’s stamp in obscure places like the bottom of the drawers, the back of the dresser or inside where wood has not been stained.