Guides Archive

LAPADA Guide to Antique Chandeliers

For centuries the chandelier has been the most iconic lighting form to grace our interiors, balancing a decorative and aesthetic function with practical illumination. From its beginnings it was associated with wealth and power and a burning symbol of success and social standing.

Mr Adrian Alan

Adrian Alan

Homes & Antiques Guide to Antique Beds

In conjunction with our partner Homes & Antiques, LAPADA is pleased to offer expert advice on buying an antique bed by expert dealer and LAPADA member Paul Beedham.

Mr Paul Beedham

Beedham Antiques Ltd.

LAPADA Guide to Buying Antiquities

The term 'antiquities' refers to artefacts from prehistory to roughly Medieval Period. The term is very broad and covers the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, ancient Egypt, ancient Near Eastern cultures and delves into prehistoric periods and Asian civilizations.

Christopher Martin

C.J. Martin (Coins) & Ancient Art Ltd

LAPADA Guide to Giltwood Furniture

R. W. Symonds, a renowned furniture historian, once pronounced that gilt gesso furniture was unparalleled: ‘It possessed a quality which no carving in wood could emulate’.*

Mr Charlie Mackinnon

Mackinnon Fine Furniture

LAPADA Guide to Diamond Cuts

Diamonds were probably worn as early as the sixth century BC, though the oldest extant examples date from Ancient Rome.

Paul Daughters

Berganza Ltd

LAPADA Guide to Portrait Enamels

Most significant portrait miniature collections also contain portrait enamels. These usually resemble watercolour portrait miniatures in their framing and size, yet they were produced in a very different way and their creators were more closely associated with watchmakers and jewellers than with the manuscript illuminators who evolved the first portrait miniatures.

Philip Mould OBE

Philip Mould Portrait Miniatures

LAPADA Guide to Parquetry & Marquetry

Anyone who works with antiques, especially restorers who spend literally days burnishing pieces to bring back their lustre, will tell you that wood is wonderful.

Mr Charles Wallrock

Wick Antiques Ltd

LAPADA Guide to Antique Clocks

Prized and valued today as they were when first commissioned and made, fine antique clocks represent a sound financial investment and will be a pleasure to own and incorporate into your daily life.

Tobias Birch

Tobias Birch Ltd

LAPADA Guide to Meissen Porcelain

LAPADA member Serhat Ahmet talks about collecting Meissen Porcelain, known in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries as the most innovative and sought after by royal courts and the aristocracy; it was called 'white gold', due to its huge expense to purchase.

Serhat Ahmet

Serhat Ahmet Limited

LAPADA Guide to Oriental Rugs & Carpets

Only during the past century have oriental rugs become valued throughout the world as works of art. Collectors are often attracted to these handcrafted pieces by the desire to own a part of the rich and colourful history behind this art form - whilst, moreover, such works have the ability to transform interiors into extraordinary spaces.