If you’re planning to buy an antique, the bad news first. It’s not as easy as you think it is. The danger of being misled lurks in every craggy crevice of that intricately-woodworked walnut chest you have zeroed in on and stares back at you through the mist-covered glass of that mirror you have picked up, which may or may not have recorded in its foggy reflection memories of the ancient past.

No, it is not at all easy to identify and buy antique furniture, experts warn. Points out J.R. Jones, art dealer associated with the companies Victor Brothers and Daniels, which deal strictly with European and Oriental art, “There are no shortcuts on offer.” There is no easy step-by-step guide for today’s consumerist society, which has perhaps amassed enough money to buy antiques but hasn’t quite cultivated the aesthetic sense, which, according to experts like Jones, is an indispensable prerequisite for understanding antiques.

So will the ownership of antique furniture continue to be the privilege of a few? No, certainly not. And that’s the good news. As Jones points out, “With some amount of education and exposure it is possible to cultivate the required expertise.” “It is a bit like performing a surgery,” he laughs, aware that the comparison is somewhat contradictory to his statement that ‘anyone can do it’. But he adds reassuringly, “Success is guaranteed if you are attentive and conscientious.”

Indeed, for the customer interested in shopping for antiques the first step, according to experts, is to be conscientious. “You should study the market carefully before making any purchases,” advises Sharad Narula, owner of Minnoli, which deals in decorative furniture, curios and art. He suggests that you frequent the places — such as auction houses and markets in places like Free School Street, Sealdah, Gopal Nagar, Mullick Bazaar — that deal in old furniture.

But how do you determine if a piece of furniture is indeed an antique? “Look around you,” says Merina Patel, secretary at an arts and furniture shop on Park Street, pointing to the artefacts and old furniture with which the room is crammed. “Only one of these is an antique,” she chuckles, “but if you don’t know how to tell the difference, you can be duped”.

“By definition, an antique has to be at least 100 years old,” says Jones. “Anything younger in age is considered ‘period’ furniture.” Pointing out that the majority of the antique furniture available in Bengal is the colonial furniture from the Victorian and Edwardian ages, Jones, an expert in the area of antique identification, tells you what to look for. “The difference between the craftsmanship of yesterday’s furniture makers and today’s is actually quite glaring to even the most untrained eye. Earlier, individual pieces of furniture were crafted with the greatest of love, with meticulous attention to detail. Unlike today’s commercial furniture maker, money was not the main motivation. Art was. Anyone with an artistic sensibility will be able to tell the difference. This cannot be taught.”

There are other indicators such as the quality of the wood. Says Narula, “Earlier only the best quality wood — such as mahogony or Burma teak — would be used in the manufacturing of furniture. If you study the grain structure of the wood over a period of time, you will be able to make out the difference.”

However, Narula, is more than willing to give the unexposed a few easy tips on how to spot the difference. “In the olden days, furniture makers only employed the technique of dovetailing to put together the joints. So if someone is trying to con you into buying a piece held together by nails or screws, you know it’s a fake.” He also suggests that you look for “wear and tear”, which are tell-tale indications of antiquity.

Joyoti Chaliha who works for Shape, an ad agency, and has several pieces of antique furniture, which her mother collected over a period of over 40 years, says that “the charm of an antique lies in exactly this — a chip here or a scratch there.”

Narula also suggests that you check for smoothness by running your fingers along the underside of the piece of your choice — like the edges of desks and tables and bottom of drawers. “Earlier, craftsmen spent a lot of time smoothing out not just the exposed surfaces, but even the hidden edges with sandpaper. Today’s furniture makers try to cut labour cost by scrapping this.”

But if you are not exactly the adventurous sort, you can play it safe and look for the right stamps. That is, the names of some of the top furniture makers in India and abroad, which are branded on the piece of your choice. These include other than such international names as Chippendales, Calcutta’s own C. Lazarus & Company Cabinet Makers, Tomlin, Smith and Chatterjee Furnishings.

Experts agree that the process of getting to understand antiques requires time, patience and conscientious application, and therefore they advise you to always consult a connoisseur in this field.

But then what is an ‘antique’, anyway, if not a testimony to patience and time?