Vintage and antique lighting fixtures can add character and personality to any home and may be critical if you are aiming for a true period look. You can find antique lighting fixtures of all sorts at antique shops, flea markets and architectural salvage stores. However, you do have to know what you are looking for and identify antique lighting fixtures. Each common period for antique lighting has its own characteristics and there are clues as to whether a piece is a true antique or a recent reproduction. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Understand the basic components of an antique lighting fixture, as well as the types. You will see sconces, chandeliers and hanging lights of various sorts. Antique lights can be gas or electric and may, in rare cases, even be a combination of the two. Shades for gas lights were glass and can be cut glass, painted glass or acid-etched glass. Antique light fixtures have metal hardware, but the finishes can vary.
2. Look for wiring in the antique light fixture. If the fixture is not wired for electricity, it is a gas light. Gas lights were used in the 19th century and were rarely manufactured after 1900. Some chandeliers combined gas and electric and can be dated to the period between 1890 and 1900. Electric wiring, unless it has been added later, dates the fixture to after 1890.
3. Use a soft cloth to wipe and gently polish the metal to accurately assess the finish on the antique fixture. Antique lighting fixtures will, on the whole, be constructed of metal of one sort or another. Brightly polished brass was uncommon in the 19th century, so be aware that this may be a sign of a piece that is not original or has lost its original finish. Oxidized metal finishes are typically original to antique light fixtures, as are painted finishes on metal designed to look like pewter, silver or gold. Wrought iron is common in Spanish Revival and Art Nouveau light fixtures.
4. Study the stylistic features of the light fixture. Antique light fixtures can be quite simple or quite elaborate, but style may give you some clues as to the date of your antique light fixture. While you may occasionally come across early gas lights, the most common fixtures you will see will date to the late 19th and early 20th century. Styles in this period can be square and simple, like those from the Arts and Crafts movement and bungalow styles or much more elaborate, like Tudor Revival and Art Nouveau.
5. Check for a company or maker's mark. While these are not necessarily common on light fixtures, it can help provide you with more information, including when and where the antique light fixture was manufactured.
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