We offer a warm welcome to Kieran Hughes-Jones of Taliesin Antiques, based at The Pumping Station, who joins us to answer your antique-related questions. Send in your questions to antiques@viewpublishing.co.uk and the best will feature next issue.

Our first question to Kieran: what is the difference between antique and reproduction?

Reproductions have a long history. Copies of Greek statues were made in ancient Rome, and they can still be valuable and historically significant. I recently bought 18th-century Hispano-Moresque ceramics that were reproductions of earlier styles. Reproductions aren’t inherently bad, but the modern examples made to deceive are what we need to avoid.

Identifying an antique comes down to craftsmanship and signs of age. For example, if you open a Georgian chest of drawers, you’ll find hand-cut dovetails that are slightly irregular and show tool marks, whereas a modern piece will have perfectly uniform, machine-made dovetails. Always examine the fine details and ask yourself, does this look right?

Antiques are over 100 years old and should show their age! They develop beautiful patinas from years of handling and exposure. On bronze and copper, for instance, this appears as green spots on the surface.

Reproductions can provide the look at a lower cost, but when buying an authentic piece, examine it thoroughly for signs of age and origin. It takes years of experience to perfect this, but by taking your time and carefully examining a piece, its true age can often reveal itself.