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Jeremy and a keen pupil in the showroom above the workshop. |
Like witchcraft perhaps, the antique profession likes to encourage you to assume that an element of mystery shrouds their abilities to recognise the value and accurately date antiques.
And it is true that years of rummaging in the auction houses and decades spent clambering on, under and around a piece of furniture is the best way to develop any truly valuable knowledge of how to pinpoint an era, the value, or the materials and techniques that go to make a great piece of furniture.
But you don’t have to wait until you are old and wise to become a master detective in the field of antiques – you can cheat a little – or at least fast forward your expertise.
Gow Antiques and Restoration Ltd is a restoration business based outside Forfar in Angus. The owner, Jeremy Gow, set up the business 10 years ago and he and his team restore antiques from stately homes throughout Scotland, including the royal residences.
‘We do a lot of work for un-stately homes too’, Gow points out. They also run three-day courses on learning how to date furniture and recognise the techniques and materials used.
SEE AUGUST 2005 EDITION OF SCOTTISH FIELD TO READ FULL STORY