Great vocabulary words to remember for the antiques lover

It doesn’t take very long for you to hear some interesting words when you deal with antiques.  They could apply to just about anything, here’s some of them that I have run across.

Lavabo—this is a French word that means "wash bowl."

Nesting tables—this is a group of tables (there’s usually three, every once in a while there’s more) that is constructed so that one fits under the other.

Tin glaze—it’s an opaque white glaze that contains tin oxide.  It has been used on faience, delftwares and even majolica pottery.

This is only a small portion of the words that I have heard over the years.  What kinds of words have you come across?

Vocabulary words for the furniture collector

There’s always some terms that you pick up along the way when you either collect a certain area or are a dealer.  Furniture is the same way, and here’s some great vocabulary words that I heard along the way:

Attached Back Pillow: This is a pillow treatment that can’t be taken off the upholstered piece.

Butler's Table: This is an oval wooden tray on legs whose four sides are hinged to fold out flat when it is set down.

Case Piece: A piece of furniture like this provides interior space for storage.  It could be something like clothing or bedding.

Commode: Today, this means something completely different.  It used to be a low chest that had either  drawers or doors (some sort of cabinet on legs) which usually stands against a wall.

Nest-of-Tables: These are small tables that are used every once in a while and are graduated in size so that they slide beneath one another.

These are only a handful of the words that you will run across.  What words have you heard?

Vocabulary Words For The Beginning Collector

When you dive headfirst into the world of collectibles, you’ll hear many terms that will become an essential part of your vocabulary.  Here are few that you’ll often hear:

Cross-Collectible—A item that falls into multiple collectible categories (like toys, Salesman’s Samples, and advertising).  A cross-collectible will be of interest to more collectors, and in theory, will be an easier sell.  I have a couple of great examples of cross-collectibles in my Etsy store.  You can see the Salesman’s Sample sad iron here and the screw jack by Simplex salesman’s sample here.

Milk Glass—A type of glass that is opaque or white in color, and is either blown or pressed into a mold, and is made into all types of items.  It could be a vase, tray, or even a lamp shade.  There’s a great set of milk glass spice holders in my Etsy shop.  You can see them here.

Transferware—Getting its start in the Staffordshire England area in the 1800’s, this is a type of decoration process for pottery.  It uses transfer printing, and starts with a copper plate printing an image onto tissue paper.  While the ink is still wet, it is applied to the pottery.  The item is then fired in a kiln at a low temperature to permanently adhere the image to the pottery.  I have a great example of transferware pottery in my Etsy store; it happens to be a mug by Royal Bonn with a pattern called THEETRINKER.  You can see it here.

What collecting terms have you heard recently?