By stripping, painting and sanding a dry sink, newer pieces can be made to look antique. This is not an issue in and of itself, but it can be if the piece has not been labeled as a reproduction and a consumer purchases it thinking it is an antique.
Old wood is often re-purposed to create new furniture pieces. Look for nail holes that may have been filled and stained over. Those that have been painted over will be harder to spot.
Newer wash stands have machine cut dovetail joints-usually consisting of five dovetails. Old style pieces generally had three dovetails that were unevenly spaced and hand-carved.
The truly discerning buyer may want to check the end cuts of boards on a dry sink to look for circular saw cuts that look swirled.
New hardware on an antique wash stand will look, well, new. Chances are unlikely to find screws on older style pieces. Some furniture may have needed repair which would require some new hardware, but the entire piece should not.
There's nothing inherently wrong with reproduction dry sinks. Some look quite well-aged and can be considerably less expensive than the true antique version. However, as stated above, it's the unscrupulous dealer that distresses a piece and passes it off as an antique when it isn't, that creates issue with authenticity.
Very nice list! Great job!
Yep, I'm with bossy; I always though that dovetail joints were a sign of an old piece, regardless. Nice list.
Way to be a savvy antique buyer!
Very thorough list on ways to spot a fake dry sink! I would never have thought to check the dove tails.
Good tips -I have an antique dry sink and it's a lovely piece of furniture.
select one here...