Vintage view: Antique ware

A bang of the tooth on a pearl, a sharp sniff at the Bakelite with loupe pinched to the eyeball — you can tell a seasoned collector at a fair or antique viewing by the intimate way in which they inspect a potential purchase.

Senses flared, it’s like watching an old wolf snuffle chemical messages from the forest floor. Condition is everything when assessing antique and vintage pieces. Damage, wear, missing parts, restoration — the further the piece is from the moment it slid newly moulded from the hands or machinery that made it, the greater its cold, hard market value is compromised.

We are talking here of a dramatic fall in value, to the point that the item becomes at best a second rate object for the starter collector, or at worst a tragic, old curiosity.