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Painted country furniture – How to tell the difference between reproductions and antiques
Where to paint. It simply made no sense to furniture makers to paint the insides of drawers and bottoms of tables because no one would see them. So, why waste the time and paint? You should be on the lookout for paint on hidden areas when you're assessing a piece because you'll often find reproductions with paint on the inside of drawers, chair bottoms etc. It's a tip-off that you could be looking at a reproduction.
Does crazing mean it's old? Crazing (tiny cracks in the paint that occur over many years) can be artificially produced on new furniture. One tip-off is that new furniture will often be crazed all over and with the same consistency. Crazing on old furniture happens from the accidents of regular use — spills and exposure to heat, fire or smoke damage that occurs over the life of furniture. There are two types of crazing: crazing to the paint or to the varnish. Over time varnish gets brittle and develops very tiny fine lines as wood expands and contracts. A similar effect happens to paint.
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