Antiquespeak ― A Guide to the Styles, Techniques, and Materials of the Decorative Arts, from the Renaissance to Art Deco

Understanding antiques requires knowledge of a specialized vocabulary that tells initiates what something is, where it came from, and when it was made. AntiqueSpeak provides this essential information in concise but illuminating essays that cover almost a millennium of styles (such as Baroque and Art Deco), materials (glass, ivory), types of objects (furniture, toys and games), specialized areas of collecting (folk art, Judaica), and concerns involved with acquiring and caring for antiques (auctions, condition, marks and signatures). In addition, the book includes a handy one-page StyleChart; a section of color plates (one for each major style); an album of ornaments and classical orders, represented by line drawings; labeled drawings of selected furniture types; an introduction that explains how to use the book; and an invaluable index that provides dates and nationalities for all the designers, craftsmen, artists, and others discussed in the entries.

Kathryn B. Hiesinger is curator of European decorative arts at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. She is also the co-author of Abbeville's Landmarks of Twentieth-Century Design: An Illustrated Handbook.

George H. Marcus is adjunct assistant professor of the history of art at the University of Pennsylvania. He is co-author of Abbeville's Landmarks of Twentieth-Century Design: An Illustrated Handbook. as well as a number of other books on design. He co-curated the exhibition "What Is Design Today?" at Philadelphia University and wrote the accompanying book. For over thirty years, he served as director of publications at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.