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In recent years, television programmes and lifestyle magazines have fuelled a nostalgic enthusiasm for the past. Their presentation serves not only to increase knowledge for art and antiques from earlier centuries but also to heighten our expectations of their value. The media constantly regale us with stories of people who find Turners skulking in the attic or rare Chinese dishes in the one pound box outside a junk shop.

Buying antiques

In reality, such lucky finds are rare and when they do occur they happen to those who have enough expertise to back their hunch with sound experience. For the rest of the world, buying a serious, valuable antique, whether it be a Regency dining table, 18th-century Dutch flower painting or an ironstone dinner service, involves considerable financial outlay. So, what steps does the enthusiastic but inexperienced beginner take to thread their way through the thorny thicket of the antiques market and emerge unscathed and unfleeced at the other side?

Cash limits

Firstly, a couple of obvious, practical points. Decide on a cash limit and do not exceed it or you may end up repenting your spur of the moment extravagance. Try to stick broadly to your original intentions and do not get waylaid down tempting blind alleys. If, for example, you set out to buy a dining table, it is no good coming back with a card table. However prettily inlaid it might be, you will never fit all the plates on it at dinner parties.

Similarly, if you wanted an intimate miniature for the bedroom you might live to regret that you ended up with a six foot square, bargain-priced, stag hunting scene that will not fit comfortably on any wall in the house.

It is worth the expense of the entrance fee to gain the advantage of having so many serious dealers captive under one roof, and even if many of the pieces are beyond your pocket it nonetheless gives you a picture of the breadth and variety on offer.

Choosing a reputable dealer.

The other way to minimize the risks is to choose a reputable dealer. Here, the same advice applies to antique buying as it does to plumbing, life insurance or any business transaction.

Paying for your purchases

Some dealers incorporate terms and conditions of sale into their sales invoices. Others do not. This can mean that ownership rights to the antique you intend to buy will vary depending on whether or not they have been paid for in full. The same goes for deposits. The moral of this is that you should always make your intentions clear and if you do not understand any aspect of your purchase arrangement, such as deposits, or who bears restoration costs simply ask the dealer. He wont bite! Do not tell a dealer you intend to buy an item if in truth you are not quite sure that it is right for you. If you need to check with your spouse that he or she approves of your purchase then be honest with the dealer and tell him as much. The dealer may then be prepared to hold the piece for a day or two, but he may reserve the right to sell in the meantime should a firm offer come in. So often do customers ask to have a piece reserved for them, only then to disappear into thin air, which the dealers do have to cover themselves.

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