The antique marks glossary - antique terms u covering everything from undercut to urn.

• Click for all the s's
• Click for all the t's
• All the u's.

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.

undercut (furniture - carving )

Ornamental carving that is cut so deep that the decoration stands out from the body of the piece and that in some parts stands completely free of it.

underframing (furniture - support)

The support structure under a seat, table top, dresser, cabinet or other piece.

 

underglaze (decoration - technique)

The design or colours applied, cut or incised into a ceramic body prior to glazing and firing.

unite (coin - gold - British)

A 17thC. british gold coin of £1 in value. Handsome triple-unites were struck by king charles I at shrewsbury and oxford mints in the 1640's.

upholsterers chair (furniture - chair - for hire)

A single chair with a fabric covered back and seat. 17thC. upholsterers hired out the chairs to private households.

upright (furniture - support)

The frame of a chair back in one piece with the back legs. Also any vertical support on a piece of furniture.

urn stand (furniture - small table)

A small table introduce in the 18thC. and used to stand a tea urn on. Sometimes with a pull-out slide for a teapot.

utility scheme (design standard - WWII)

A scheme introduced during world war II intended to force manufacturers in all fields to standardise designs and reduce raw material wastage.

 

It produced drab utilitarian furniture, clothing and effects and its influence continued through to the 1950's. Utility scheme ceramics tended to be simple unadorned pieces in white or cream.