Frequently Asked Questions
At "Antiques with Distinction" we will make antiquing a special and unique experience. Below you will find some commonly asked questions:
-I
am looking for a specific piece. Do you have other items besides the
ones presented on your website?
-Do you provide a certificate for each
piece?
-Do I need specific insurance when I
own an antique?
-What is the best way to get in
touch with you?
-Can we visit your store?
-Do you deliver?
-Do you ship?
-Do you ship internationally?
-Do you speak any other languages?
-I am in the NY area, can I drop in and see
your inventory?
-I like to go antiquing in Europe. Can you organize such
a trip?
-Do you offer special services for
interior designers?
-Do you sell or consign items to
well established dealers?
-I am member of the press, can I use your
materials?
Fell free to contact us with any questions by clicking on the "Contact" button on the top of this page. We encourage you, however, to read the questions below since we may have answered many of your questions.
Q:I am looking for a specific piece. Do
you have other items besides those presented on your web site?
A: Yes, we may. At Antiques with Distinction we are not only dealers,
but also collectors. We are always looking at
new items to add to our portfolio and may already have the
particular piece you are looking for in
Europe, or in transit. In addition,
since we live with our antique furniture, we may have the piece you are
looking for, but don't have it at this time for sale.
We also offer our premium service to collectors and interior
designers. With this service we can locate any type of high end
piece, often furniture or decorative art pieces signed by a master.
We may restore, if needed, and import
the special piece or pieces.
Q: Do you provide a certificate for each
antique?
A: Yes, we do. Each of our decorative art pieces comes with an
Antiques with Distinction certificate. The certificates provide you
with the details on the piece you acquired, photo, dimensions,
description, estimated date of creation, as well as some
information on the
piece. The certificate will help to
converse with others about your new "Antique with Distinction." This
certificate may help you with insurance needs, but does not replace
an official appraisal that may be
required by some insurance carriers, so please check with your insurance agent if you will be insuring your piece.
Q:Do I need specific insurance when I own
antiques?
A: Most home insurance won't cover you for items that are worse more
than 2 to $ 5,000 if you don't schedule them individually. Check
with your provider. In addition we are responsible of an item as
long as it is under our control. If we ship your item and even if
you advise you a specific carrier, you will be ultimately
responsible of shipping. We will however select only fully bounded
carrier and/or advise you to subscribe a shipping insurance.
Q: What's the best way to get in touch
with you?
A: You can contact us by e-mail, phone or by snail mail, but we can provide a
quicker response to your query via e-mail. Some
questions may require some research so response times may vary by
question. Please visit our contact
us page to see how to reach us or
use the "Contact Us" button on any item on the description page.
Q: Can we visit your store?
A: The world is getting smaller and smaller everyday and the
Internet has been a key contributor to this globalization. These days you can browse for antiques
from the comfort of your home or office.
At Antiques with Distinction, we have cut out the show room so that
you may browse our portfolio of antiques on a well designed website.
Do not forget, however, that our pieces are available for
viewing by appointment. We believe in providing you with a unique
antiquing experience focusing on you, your desires and tastes. Our
antiques are on display in Hunterdon/Morris County, New Jersey, only
one hour west of NYC on route 78.
Q: Do you deliver?
A: Yes, we will deliver to the NYC area, NJ and as far as Eastern, PA. Please
contact us for quotes on delivery.
Q: Do you ship?
A: Yes, we do. We can arrange shipping to each of the 50 states
by
specialized carrier fully bonded and that ship delicate
items, such as pianos. Please contact us for quotes on
shipping. The buyer is responsible for shipping, we may
provide you with a list of shippers, however, the choice is yours
when choosing a shipper.
Q: Do you ship internationally?
A: Yes, we do. We work with freight companies that can deliver a
container to potentially all container ports in the world, or airlift
an item to any major airport in the world. Please contact us
for quotes on freight to the closest port of your choice. The
buyer is responsible for freight, we may provide you with a list of
freight companies, however, the choice is yours on choosing an
international freight broker. The broker will
mandate that you insure your shipment to your port destination and
you will have to arrange pick-up from the port and transport to your
home.
Q: Do you speak any other languages?
A: Yes, Oui, Si. We have team members that speak English,
French and Spanish fluently. We will do our best to respond to
your inquiry in the language of your choice promptly.
Q: I am in the NY area,
can I drop in
and see your inventory?
A: The best way to see our inventory is to visit our website. We do
not have a physical showroom, however, our pieces are available
for viewing by appointment.
Please contact us and we will arrange an appointment. We believe in
providing you a unique antiquing experience focusing on you, your
desires and tastes. Our antiques are on display in Hunterdon/Morris
County, New Jersey, only one hour west of NYC on route 78.
Q: I like to
go antiquing in Europe. Can you organize such trip?
A: Yes, we can. We plan only high-end antiquing trips in the French countryside
where you can find prestigous dealers with reasonable pricing. Our specialty is Normandy and the Loire Valley.
We will organize all aspects of your stay from airport transfers,
car service, stays in luxury castles hotels and dining at
award winning restaurants.
We will also organize the pick up of your purchases,
quote your restorations, crating, shipping and custom clearing to
the destination of your choice in the U.S.
Please contact us to schedule an appointment to create your own
customized, special antiquing experience to Normandy or the Loire
Valley, France.
Q:Do you offer special service for
interior designers?
A: We are always looking to grow our partner networks of designers
and to establish long term, mutually beneficial relationships with high
end interior designers.
If you wish to include any of our pieces in any of your projects,
please visit our
interior designers
page or contact us for more information.
Remember to contact us even if you do not see an item you are
looking for. We have team members permanently stationed in
Europe that are always shopping, so any particular piece you have in
mind may be found quickly. We may locate a Louis XV chest of drawers
signed by G. JACOB all the way to an Art Nouveau table from L. MAJORELLE.
Q: Do you sell or consign
items to well established dealers?
A: Yes, we do. We work exclusively with high end dealers that
have a quality showroom. Our items are all unique pieces of art and we value
each piece greatly. To that end, we look to establish long term relationships with
key, well established antique dealers.
Contact us if you are interested in obtaining an item on consignment
or by purchase. Please visit our
dealers page.
Q: I am member of the press, can I use
your materials?
A: Our materials are copyrighted, however, we may license use of our
materials in exchange for a simple acknowledgment. Please contact us
for information and feel free to visit our
press page and
press releases.
Glossary
- Acanthus: Plants whose leaves are often used as models for wood
sculptures on armoires.
- Arabesque: Decorative line-ups of sculpted or painted flowers
and leaves without symmetry and placed as an ornament on
furniture.
- Balustre: Shape of a vase or the feet of furniture that corresponds
to a short column that is wider in its middle.
- Bergere: Type of large upholstered chair, commonly found in the Louis
XV and Regence/Rococo period, 18th Century. Bergere
includes a loose, but tailored, cushioned upholstered back, upholstered
seat and exposed wooden frame.
- Bonnetiere: One door armoire, only 2 to 3 feet wide and often Provincial work.
- Burr or Burl: Luxury wood pieces used in veneer that are
abnormal growths on the tree that has wood forming lines and stripes in
the wood. Often referred to as "Loupe."
- Cabling: Parallel column with grooves often founds on the feet of chairs, tables or desks. Popular in the 18th century and also found on wood panels of furniture.
- Cabriolet legs: Curved legs of a desk, chair or table in a "S" shape that is characteristic of the Louis XV period.
- Cartel: Small, free-standing wall clock that has a point at
the bottom. The clock is characteristic of 18th and
19th century.
- Chiffonnière: Little table with high feet and three drawers
under the top deck.
- Chiffonnier: Piece of tall and narrow furniture with five,
six or eight drawers stacked on top of the other. A
chiffonier with seven drawers is called a Semainier (see below).
- Console: Small, usually rectangular side table made to be placed along a wall. Some consoles only have two front legs and the back is attached to a wall.
- Corbeille a Fleur: Sculptured piece representing a flower basket. This piece is generally found on the top and center of some 18th Century provincial furniture.
- Demi-lune: Half round table often placed along a wall.
- "Deux Corps": Furniture piece made of two stacked pieces that can be separated.
- Eglomisé: Technique used in glass work that is engraved and
may include gold markings on a mirror.
- Fluted Legs: Straight legs of a desk, chair or table that is wide at the top and becomes narrow as it goes down. Became popular during the Louis XVI period.
- Inlay: Decorative technique made by inserting pieces of colored materials (copper, for example) into depressions in the base object and that forms patterns or pictures.
- Gilding: Gold leaf plating used to decorate furniture.
- Giltwood: Gold leaf plated wood furniture.
- Marquetry: Craft of covering a structural carcass with veneer that forms decorative patterns, designs or pictures. The result may be furniture, decorated small objects or free-standing pictures .
- Patina: Patina is the change of the appearance of an antique that occurs over time and that is caused by time. It includes the fading of some painting or marquetry, the oxidation of metals, etc.
- Pediment: Top element of a piece of furniture or column.
- Psyché: A mirror that is often floor standing and can be oriented
because of two arms that are often in the shape of swan necks.
- Scribed Shape: Term used to describe curves and counter
curves. May also be referred to as "Chantournée."
- Semainier: Piece of furniture that is tall and narrow with seven drawers
(one for each day of the week) stacked above the other and
usually topped with marble.
- Trompe l'oeil: Art technique involving extremely realistic imagery in order to create an optical illusion that the depicted objects really exist as opposed to two-dimensional paintings. The name is derived from French and means "trick the eye." "Tromper," to deceive and "l'œil," the eye
- Trumeau: Mirror included in a wood panel and often topped with a painting placed as an ornament on top of a fireplace mantel or between two doors or windows.
- Vaulted: Shape of the top of many chairs or armoires curved
at the center also referred to as "arched."
- Veneer: Thin slices of wood, usually thinner than 1/8 of an inch, that are usually glued and pressed onto core panels (typically wood) to produce flat panel decoration, such as doors, and side panels for cabinets, parquet floors and parts of furniture. Veneer is the technique used to create marquetry.