The antique marks glossary - antique terms t covering everything from table to tin glaze to tyg.

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The list is not exhaustive but we will add to it as time goes by. The descriptions detailed are only intended to be relevant to how the word or term relates to antiques and although the same word may have other meanings in other contexts, we have not and do not intend to detail those meanings here. In some instances we have included pictures to enhance the meaning of the word or term and we have also indexed each word in order that you may link to the explanation when the word or term appears in other pages on the site.

tabako-ire (japanese - pouch - tobacco)

Japanese tobacco pouch which was hung from a kurawa (ashtray) netsuke. A tabako-bon is a tobacco cabinet, also known as a tabako-dansu, which has drawers for tobacco, a metal or china container for charcoal, and hooks for hanging a kiseru (pipe). 19thC examples are often decorated with lacquer. A kiseru'zutsu is a pipe holder.

tabby (textile - silk taffeta )

A 17thC term for silk taffeta with a changeable surface finish like shot silk. Also -- a basic weave in which the warp thread is woven alternately over and under each weft thread.

tabernacle clock (clocks & watches - german - four dial tower )

A German clock of the renaissance period in the form of a turreted tower, often with a dial on each of the four vertical sides, and with a balustraded gallery top containing hour and quarter-hour bells. Most German town guilds in the 16th and 17th centuries required an apprentice to make a tabernacle clock, with many additional astronomical and calendar dials, as a masterpiece clock before qualifying as a master clock-maker.

table clock (clocks & watches - spring driven - drum clock )

A spring-driven clock set within a flat-based case of metal or wood. The dial is either on the upper or front surface, sometimes with subsidiary dials on the sides and back. Table clocks were first made in France and Germany in the 16thC. British bracket clocks and mantel clocks fall into the table clock category.

 

taffeta (textiles - silk -cushions)
Fine tabby weave silk fabric used in Britain since the 14thC, and especially from the i6th to 17th centuries, for cushion covers, counterpanes and curtains.

From the 17thC, taffeta was stretched and a gum-like substance applied to give a glossy, watered finish.

Taffeta is a crisp, smooth woven fabric made from silk or synthetic fibers. The word is Persian in origin, and means "twisted woven." It is considered to be a "high end" fabric, suitable for use in ball gowns, wedding dresses, and in interiors for curtains or wallcovering. There are two distinct types of silk taffeta: yarn-dyed and piece-dyed. Piece-dyed taffeta is often used in linings and is quite soft. Yarn-dyed taffeta is much stiffer and is often used in evening dresses. While silk taffeta has been classically woven in Italy and France and until the 1950s in Japan, today most silk taffeta is produced in India. Originally this was produced on handlooms, but since the 1990s, it has been produced on the most modern looms in the Bangalore area. From the 1970s until the 1990s, the Jiangsu province of China produced some fine silk taffetas. They were less flexible than the Indian mills that now dominate production. Other countries in Southeast Asia and the Middle East are weaving silk taffeta, but not yet either at the quality or competitiveness of India. The most deluxe taffetas are still woven in France, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

On November 4, 1782, taffeta was used by Joseph Montgolfier of France to construct a small, cube-shaped balloon. This was the beginning of many experiments using taffeta balloons by the Montgolfier brothers, and led to the first known human flight in a lighter-than-air craft.

The fabric has been known since at least the Renaissance period. William Shakespeare mentions it in Twelfth Night (Act II: Sc IV), before the Clown's exit: "Now, the melancholy god protect thee; and the tailor make thy doublet of changeable taffeta, for thy mind is a very opal

tambour (furniture - shutter - embroidery frame)
A flexible shutter used for roll-top desk lids and sliding doors for cupboards. Tambour covers are made from narrow slats of wood glued to a canvas or linen backing and were developed in France in the 15thC.

Also - a pair of wooden hoops that form a frame to hold embroidery while it is being worked on. The resulting design, stitched in a continuous line of cross-stitches, is known as tambour work and was used to decorate white muslin dresses and accessories, c1780-1850.

tantalus (furniture - decorative stand)
Decorative stand, case or box for cut-glass decanters, fashionable from the mid-19thC until the Edwardian period in Britain.

The lockable Tantalus was first seen in England around 1870. The word tantalus comes from the word tantalise.

They were first used in many of England's grandest houses. The Tantalus allowing the home owner a means of locking away their finest brandy and other sprits from the eager attention of their butlers, who often helped themselves to a tipple after the master retired to bed

It is usually for two or three decanters, but can be for up to six. The decanters can only be removed by raising or lowering the overhead handle or bar which locks them in place. tapestry Handwoven fabric in which a design or picture is worked in during manufacture using the weft (crosswise) threads, although the term is loosely used for any woven wall-hanging or upholstery. Tapestries are usually

thaumatrope (toys - illusion - zeotrope)
Optical toy, developed in the late 1820s, consisting of a card or disc with two different figures drawn on each side. When it is rotated the two figures appear to combine into one.

Also - Cylinder bearing a series of figures on the inside and a series of slits on the outside. The figures are viewed through the slits and when the cylinder is rotated appear to be moving. The effect is similar to that produced by a zoetrope.

thonet brothers (furniture - makers - bentwood)
Austrian furniture-makers established in Vienna c1842, that specialised in bentwood furniture. The bentwood technique perfected by its founder Michael Thonet (1796-1871).

Furniture was exported to the USA and Europe, especially after mass-production techniques were introduced in 1859.

By 1871 Thonet Brothers was the largest furniture-making firm in the world. The company changed its name to Thonet-Mundus in 1923, producing tubular steel chairs designed by Marcel breuer, Ludwig mies van der rohe and le corbusier among others.

The Thonet Brothers, thanks to an Imperial patent, dominated European production of bentwood furniture in the mid-19th century. After their patent expired in 1869, the Kohn Brothers company became a serious rival.

From 1900 both firms manufactured designs by leading architects like Josef Hoffmann, as well as imitating their style. The economic slump that followed World War I forced the two firms to merge in 1922.

Thonet continues to produce bentwood, moulded plywood and tubular steel furniture today.

tiffany & co (jewellery - makers - art deco)
Leading American jewellery firm founded 1837 in New York by goldsmith Charles Tiffany (1812-1902).

The firm gained an international reputation for jewellery, especially diamonds, watches, gems and silverware. It introduced the sterling standard to the USA in 1850, which was later legalised for American sterling silverware.

In 1886, Charles Tiffany designed the Tiffany setting with curved prongs to secure a solitaire diamond to a finger ring.

Charles's son, Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933), founded an interior design company in New York in 1879 which later became Tiffany Studios.

In 1880 he patented favrile glass and for the next 20 years produced art, mosaic and stained glass pieces as well as art nouveau vases, bowls and lamps with glass shades.

From 1902 he concentrated on jewellery, and also produced pottery and designed furniture, wallpapers and fabrics in art nouveau style. The studios closed in 1932, but Tiffany & Co still operates.

tiles (ceramics - roof - floor - wall)
Decorated ceramic slabs for roof, wall or floor decoration. maiolica tiles of 15thC Italy were designed for flooring, but their bright colours inspired Spanish and Portuguese pictorial wall tiles.

The Dutch produced monochrome blue and white or manganese purple and white wall tiles which were exported throughout Europe from the 17th to 19th centuries.

Key centres for decorative tiles in Britain were bristol, lambeth and liverpool from the late 17thC, and in France, rouen, nevers and Lisieux.

In Germany and other parts of central Europe, tiles with incised or relief designs, covered with a green, yellow or brown lead glaze were made by the Hafner (stove-makers). Demand for decorative tiles fell in the early 19thC, but revived in the mid-century.

The British output came from Staffordshire potteries, particularly minton.

The medieval technique of making encaustic tiles, in which tiles are inlaid with clays of contrasting colours and fixed with heat, was also revived. At the end of the century glazed tiles were made in arts and crafts, aesthetic and art nouveau styles.

tin-glazed earthenware (ceramics - delftware - delft - earthenware)
Earthenware coated in an opaque white-ground glaze. The addition of tin oxide to a basic lead glaze resulted in an impermeable, more refined, white surface than previously achieved in the West.

Tin glazes were used almost exclusively on earthenware, but were occasionally used by porcelain-makers to whiten a cream body, such as at chantilly c1730 and chelsea c1745.

Tin-glazed earthenware was first made during the Mesopotamian civilisation, c1000bc, but did not reach western Europe until the 8thC, when Moorish invaders introduced the techniques to Spain (see hispano-moresque ware).

From the 13thC Italians began to develop their own style of tin-glazed earthenware which became known as maiolica. The French followed suit with their version, called faience, the Germanic countries with fayence, and the Dutch and British produced delftware.

Colours for decorating tin-glazed earthenware were at first limited to high-temperature colours. From the 18thC, enamel decoration was sometimes added after the tin glaze had been fired, and a second, lead glaze or kwaart was applied to give a brighter finish.

thomas tompion (clocks & wathes - watchmaker - 1638-1713)
British clock and watch-maker who is recognised for his outstanding mechanical skills and craftsmanship.

Thomas Tompion (1639-1713) was an English master clockmaker and watchmaker. He is known today as the father of English watchmaking.

Thomas Tompion was born around 1639 and was baptised July 25, 1639 in Northill, Bedfordshire, England. Tompion probably worked as a blacksmith until 1664 when he became apprenticed to a London clockmaker.

Tompion was an early member of the Clockmakers' Company of London - he joined 1671 and became a master in 1704. He was also one of the few watchmakers to become a member of the Royal Society.

He briefly joined in partnership with Edward Banger in 1701.

When the Royal Observatory was established in 1676, King Charles II selected Tompion to create two clocks that would be wound only once a year. They proved to be very accurate and were instrumental in defining accurate calculations for astronomers.

Due to his relationship with the scientist Robert Hooke he made some of the first watches with balance springs. These were much more accurate than earlier watches. He also invented the cylinder escapement that allowed him to create flat watches. He also worked on the spring escapement.

Tompion's clocks are known for their ingenuity, design and robust construction. His three-train grand sonnerie bracket clocks are masterpieces. Another of his innovations was to create a numbering system for his spring and long-case clocks which is thought to be the first time that a serial numbering system was applied to manufactured goods.

In 1711 Tompion joined in partnership with George Graham, who later developed the spring escapement further after Tompion's death. He also continued Tompion's scheme to number his watches in three series: plain, repeating and special.

Thomas Tompion died in November 20, 1713 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Many of his clocks are still working today, including two of his one-year clocks, housed in Buckingham Palace.

troy weight (precious metal wieght - troy ounce)
Traditional weighting system used by goldsmiths, silversmiths and jewellers from 1526. The name comes from the town of Troyes, France, and was probably brought to Britain by Henry V, c1420.

The basic unit is the troy ounce (oz), divided into 20 pennyweights (dwt); 12 troy ounces make one troy pound (lb).

The troy ounce is the unit of weight traditionally used for precious metals such as platinum.

1 troy ounce = 0.0311 kilograms
1 kilogram = 32.1507 troy oz

The troy ounce (troy oz) differs from the more common ounce (oz) used in the U.K. and U.S.A., being slightly heavier, with 1 troy oz = 1.097 oz.

The troy system of weight is named after the city of Troyes in France, and was widely used in Europe during the Middle Ages. It fell into disuse when other systems began to be preferred, continuing to be used only in the highly specialised fields of precious metals, gems and medicines, up to the nineteenth century. Today it is only used for the trading of precious metals and gemstones.

In some auction catalogues weights are quoted in troy ounces and decimal fractions. Troy weight is still used but metric grams are slowly taking over.

tsuba (militaria - sword - japanese)
A tsuba is the sword guard of a japanese katana or tachi. Its primary purposes are to balance the sword, prevent your hand from sliding down the blade and, as a last resort, as a block against a thrust or slash. However, as time and skills developed the tsuba evolved into an artistic item and a status symbol.

Early tsuba, known as neri tsuba, were of leather in an iron or wooden frame which was sometimes lacquered for strength and stability. Later in the Muromachi period (1392-1572) when tsuba became an industry separate from sword manufacture, the iron tsuba evolved. Its primary purpose was still to balance/defend; however, inscriptions of buddhist prayers or family mottos and artistic piercework developed. (The piercework itself was defensive as it lightened the weight of the guard, but did not significantly reduce its protective capabilities.)

Over the years, artists used many different metals. They manufactured tsuba from copper, yamagane (a dark impure copper), brass, sentoku (a yellowy or dark brown brass), iron, shakudo (a mixture of copper, gold and whatever else was available which resulted in a purplish black patina) and shibuichi (literally meaning 4 parts, it is usually composed of silver -the constant and copper, tin, lead or zinc. A harder alloy than shakudo it has a silvery grey appearance when pickled.

Although iron was used early on, it re-emerged later as artists, such as Goto Ichijo, rebelled against the overly ornate and structured forms of tsuba that had devloped.

A tsuba can take many forms. It can be circular, kobushi (fist shaped), mokko (4 lobed), aoi (an outline suggesting the leaves of the mallow) or just plain irregular.

tyg (drinking vessel - loving cup - multiple handles)
Two or three-handled drinking vessel, also known as a loving cup, usually large and of ceramic or silver, for passing from guest to guest at the end of a banquet. The term is loosely used for any two-handled cup. Earthenware tygs with slip decoration and sometimes initials or dates as part of the design, were common in the 17th and 18th centuries