Featured Do you restore? Or do you let a piece "tell it's story" as-is?

Is it ever a good idea to mess with a nice antique piece? If you plan to keep it, you will decide if it meets your and/or your home's aesthetics. If you plan to flip it, is it worth the effort. Often the answer is the same if all it requires is good cleaning with minor touch-ups. In your case, that element would not be necessary for a flip.

Should you leave an antique alone? Yes, if it's very valuable, has historical significance, and/or if a quality job is out of the owner's reach.

Does recreating a part of one improve it or detract? A missing element such as your's, is removable, so a future owner has a choice. This also gets the same answers as above.

My amateur skills have come in handy combined with my artistic ability. I realize nothing has been recreated in this example, but it fits the topic. The is soapstone lamp was missing one front corner. So, I rounded both front corners. The shade was missing its domed cover. So, I inverted the lower half and added a fringe.


This post of mine also fits, as I needed to add part of the chin and repaint most of it.
https://www.antiquers.com/threads/finds-thread.137/page-1145#post-3210530

James.

 

PHEW, I finally got a word in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! @Ghopper1924, once you saw the other bookcase, and knew there was a missing piece to yours, I'm not sure you would have been totally happy until you were able to 'rectify' that!!!! WONDERFUL job well done!! Besides, the few, scant images we've seen around your home lets some of us see how wonderful and pristine your pieces are!!!!! You obviously collect very carefully! AGAIN, WELL DONE!!!!!!!! (p.s.....other one doesn't hold a candle to yours!!)

 

So you knew something was missing, and weren't going to be happy until it was back the way it was supposed to be.

Is it ever a good idea to "mess with" an antique? If it's only a fragment, I'd say sure as long as the "mess with" is done correctly or keeps the piece alive as it were. If it makes it usable, make sure the repair is reversible just in case someone else can do better later on.

 

Thanks for another thought-inducing post Ghopper! Both pieces, yours and the one online, are beautiful. Yours is beautiful-er.

I think it comes down to utility. I think it's appropriate to restore an antique house, an antique musical instrument, and an antique machine you will use. It's probably less appropriate to restore an artifact from a time or even a culture that in many ways no longer exists. Those objects should reflect their origin and individual histories as much as is possible.

The main question is, what's its primary purpose? If it's to be used (and I include art in that category, as it's meant to be enjoyed), then restoration is appropriate.

Since you're using the bookcase, and because you restored it so thoughtfully, that's seems like the right choice to me.

 

With antique furniture, a correct restoration increases it's value over 90% of the time.

 

That crest is super.

I loathe the finish on that orange job, it looks like an unlamented politician.

 

@Roaring20s and @evelyb30 your point is well taken and should be first on the menu for any restoration/alteration: Make it reversible! AKA First, do no harm.

Roaring20s, your work on the lamp is impeccable. I would buy it thinking it had never been altered.

@Aquitaine your warmth and enthusiasm are always so refreshing.

@Potteryplease thank YOU for your thought-inducing post!

@James Conrad ...to the point as usual. Just the sentence I needed.

@Ownedbybear You took me by surprise there. Very witty!

Everyone: Such awesome, well-informed opinions. I KNEW there was a reason that I keep coming back here.....

 

Ghopper your book case is simply stunning. My cook books would look super in that amazing piece of furniture.

 

The new crest looks beautiful, @Ghopper1924 . As you said, once you see the difference it's hard to un-see that.

 

Ghopper, I think you made the right decision, it looks like it was intended by the maker. Beautiful bookcase!

 

I wouldn't be able to afford it, but if I could, I would! I think that is beautiful!