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Antique Chair: All About Antique Wood Rocking Chairs

There is something about antique wood rocking chairs that gives us a rather homey feeling. Whenever antique rocking chairs are mentioned, the image of our great great great grandmothers quietly lounging at the front porch overlooking a vast farm come to mind. While antique rocking chairs are rather expensive, the thought that they once gave comfort to somebody in the same way it can comfort us now is priceless. It is, perhaps, because of this that some antique collectors gain extra interest in this item.

History tells us that rocking chairs date as far back as the 17th century, though their exact origin and maker are not known. They say rocking chairs started in either Europe or America, because the very first garden chairs were made with detachable rockers. However, it was not until the 1800s that rocking chairs became commercially available and mass produced. The furniture maker Duncan Phyfe is believed to be the first to mass market rocking chairs in the country.

There are many kinds of antique rocking chairs. Some are made of metal, others are made of wicker, while others are made of lightweight stone. However, it is the wood rocking chair that has gained much attention. Look at any home that has a rocking chair and you will almost certainly find that it is made of wood.

Since wood is an organic product and can decay, how can a wood rocking chair become an antique? This is the beauty of wood treatment and craftsmanship. Certain chemicals and makes are able to preserve wood quality that a lot of them have successfully passed the test of time. Thus, making a valuable wooden antique more valuable.

To find out if a certain wood rocking chair really is an antique, experts employ a method called spectroscopy to determine the wood's age. Spectroscopy has the ability to study the antique-ness, if there is such a term, of a certain item, not just wood. It can study plastics, ivory, amber, and bones, as well. Most museum's use this method to verify wood age. Thus, if you have any doubts as to your antique wood rocking chair, you know that there is a way to find things out.

Knowing your antique wood rocking chair's age, however, does not maximize its value. What makes a certain piece of furniture more priceless is its attachment to history. Does it have a story to tell? Who made it? Was it somebody famous or infamous? Has anybody whose name made it to history books owned it once or used it? These kinds of questions have bearing on your wooden rocking chair's value.

Of course, if your favorite great great grandfather who used to tell the funniest of jokes and make everybody happy owned it, it would be priceless to you. Why would you want to sell a piece of furniture that has this memory linked with it?

Antique wood rocking chairs are just like any other kind of antique item. It is old and it is valuable. However, how much it is worth is both an objective and a subjective issue. If the antique wood rocking chair you are eyeing was once owned by Adolf Hitler, you might scramble to buy it. But if you're a Jew, it might not be so attractive to you.

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