When Was The 'Golden Era' Of Furniture (And How To Tell If You Found An Authentic Piece)

Maybe you've just come across our ultimate guide to vintage decor and are now on the hunt for vintage furniture for your home. Before you could even begin that search, you would have to have some idea of what qualifies as vintage, beginning with the history. The idea of a single "Golden Era" is somewhat of a vintage furniture myth since different factors, including the country of origin and the type of furniture, can affect that. For instance, the golden era for English cabinetry was the mid 17th century or the early 18th century depending on what side of the English Channel you're referring to — 18th century on the English side or the 17th century if made on the continental side.

Meanwhile, in France, the golden era of furniture began in the late 17th to early 18th century. In those days, groups of furniture artisans worked under strict rules of craftsmanship established by a guild called the Corporation des Menuisiers-Ébénistes, a system in place until its dissolution in 1791 during the throes of the French Revolution. In the United States, the golden era of furniture is split into two distinct time periods: 1620 to 1690, and 1690 to 1730. The former, practised by immigrant craftsmen in the United States, goes back to the precolonial style of the European renaissance and is marked by angled oak with decorative carvings. The latter Baroque style was less angular, more slender, and expressed an interest in both comfort and luxury.

Old or vintage is different depending on the time period you're living in. Where furniture is concerned, materials, quality, and something called provenance are more important qualifiers. Provenance speaks to the historical record of all these factors within a piece of furniture, from the crafts person and place of making to ownership records up to the present. While it would be great to score a gold inlaid piece of cabinetry left over from the French aristocracy, you're more likely to find valuable vintage pieces from the mid 20th century between 1933 and 1965.

Furniture from this period was built for apartments and smaller homes, not palaces, which became the norm after World War II and the succeeding baby boom. More consideration was given to factory made products with a combination of organic and man-made materials. They were highly functional for smaller homes but high-quality and maintainable by repairing or refinishing for a longer lifespan. If you do have a high-quality piece of modern wooden furniture, it may be in your best interest to learn how to transform your wooden surfaces to vintage chic so you don't need to hunt down a vintage piece.

Once you've done research on the best places to shop for vintage furniture, you need to learn to identify vintage furniture. Luckily, most mid-century modern furniture has authenticating signage from the manufacturer on the back or bottom. Look for names such as Charles and Ray Eames, Fred Lowen, and Florence Knoll, among others. If you're lucky enough to find any of these, you can make use of this ultimate guide to mid-century modern decor for ideas on how to arrange them in your home. If the authenticating signature is missing but you're convinced you have an authentic piece of furniture from this particular golden era, you can cross-check the furniture online using keywords related to the material or type of furniture, which may lead you to clues such as the country or manufacturer of origin.

For older golden era furniture from the 17th and 18th century, the same rules apply around markings, stamps, or the appearance of signatures that attribute the piece to a specific artisan. These provide provenance and authenticity. The quality of the piece and the techniques used can also give you clues. Specific styles of lacquering or varnish can tell a knowledgeable collector the time period of a furniture. Better yet, some online shops do the work of authenticating for you and can save you the trouble of a search. However, you pay a handsome price.