THE ART OF ANTIQUES
Sunday November 3, 2013
BY NADA HEDIA
Age, exquisiteness and value is what makes the art of antiques survive through various eras.
“Antiques are more than a piece of furniture. They are considered a masterpiece because they are rare, authentic and some after centuries are still in good condition,’’ said Waffaa Refaat, an antique shop owner.
This type of art consists of collectable pieces, paintings or a piece of furniture that has an extraordinary value. Antiques are sold at expensive prices due to their significant age. Examples of vintage arts are works in Bronze, marble or high quality wood. When examining pieces, one knows the piece is an antique by the signature it has either on the back or at the bottom.
Antiques survive because “they hold their value, very few original pieces remain, and a few were made at the first place. The fact that any of the pieces has a signature on it, makes it worth more than any other object. Antiques are a life time investment,” said Yasser Abbas, a 49- year old antique collector, who has been involved with antiquing for the past 6 years.
Abbas believes that this type of art will survive because of the “emotional connection’’ an owner has with a piece.
Like any type of art, there are people who appreciate it and there are those who don’t as art is subjective.
According to Dina Abou El Ela, a marketing major at AUC, antiques are considered as an art since they survived through different periods. But she believes that modern furniture contain more “life.”
Mohamed Ibrahim, a worker at a wood workshop in Haram, explained the formation of art. He first explained the processes of creating a furniture piece and the amount of time it takes to produce. Depending on the size of the object it could take from a few days up to a few weeks.
“People now try to imitate the designs of antiques but it never turns out the same. The quality of wood was better back then and the creativity was there,” Said Ibrahim
Back at the days, such pieces of furniture took a massive of time due to the attention needed for detail. According to Ibrahim, workers had the creativity and put in the effort to create a masterpiece. However, nowadays people don’t pay attention to the details as much, its “the quantity and not the quality”
As mentioned earlier some will like the art of antiques and appreciate it, while others will despise it. But what all agreed on is that Antiques are a form of art, and are valuable due to their surviving. Antiques present both, creativity and quality, which is rarely found at the present moment.
