Dear Lee,

“Is my mechanical bank a reproduction?” “Who made my pink glass vase?” “Is my chair 18th-century or a Centennial copy?” And, of course, “What’s it worth?” These questions were in letters and emails we got this month.

Good news, bad news. The bad news is most antiques can’t be identified from a picture or description. It’s tough enough to work from the actual piece. A Queen Anne chair’s curved leg or carved back tells the age of the original design, but if the chair is well made it takes an expert who can touch the chair to know if it was made in 1775, 1875, 1975 or today. Good designs have been copied for hundreds of years and many copies are well made, handcrafted pieces.

We inherited one of a pair of Irish Chippendale chairs that were in the family at least 80 years. Family history claims it was made in the 18th century. We never examined it carefully until we saw the same chair in a 1940s antique furniture book. The original chair is in a museum. Ours is handmade, an exact copy made about 1875. The bottom construction showed newer methods were used. Our cousin inherited the other chair, but can’t be persuaded that her chair wasn’t made in the 1700s. Family history and sentiment can create “provenance” that isn’t real.

It’s difficult if not impossible to look at glass and know the maker. Copies of everything from early flasks to Victorian colored glass, pressed glass, Carnival glass and even milk bottles have been made. Mechanical banks have been reproduced since the 1940s.

But there’s good news: A “probably” identification may be possible from a clear picture of a piece and any marks. There are hundreds of websites and books that list marks on everything from silver, art pottery and glass to bottles, knives and furniture. But beware-marks, too, are faked, so checking a mark is just a start in your search. Sometimes serendipity plays a part. On our honeymoon in Bermuda, we bought some unmarked but fabulous porcelain vases we thought were French. Years later we opened The Magazine Antiques and there was a full-page color picture of our vases with an accompanying article. The author had researched the decorating studio in Paris that made the vases about 1860.

The “Collector’s Gallery” questions we answer on the back page take hours of research. We research only items that provide enough clues to make identification possible. We wind up being unable to answer two or three questions for every one we publish. So don’t be surprised if your question isn’t answered. We get hundreds of letters and emails each week. Just be assured we do read every one.