Learning How to Determine a Genuine Antique Can Be a Saving Grace : Collecting: To avoid being hit with a duty charge, it is up to travelers to establish the authenticity of their antiques. Best advice: Buy from a reputable store.

Buying antiques abroad can be risky business for travelers.

Some antiques are neither as venerable or genuine as presented by sellers. Moreover, even letters or certificates of authenticity that accompany the antiques may be less than bona fide.

The issue of an antique’s genuineness is critical for travelers when they shop: It determines whether or not duty is paid. Travelers can bring antiques into the United States duty-free if the items are judged to be at least 100 years old by U.S. Customs officials.

In addition, antiques that are deemed collectors pieces may also be brought back duty-free, with no age constraints. To qualify, items in this category must meet one of three criteria, according to Bette Adamic, senior import specialist for U.S. Customs at LAX: 1) They must be material remains of human activities suitable for the study of earlier generations, such as mummies, sarcophagi, weapons, objects of worship and articles of apparel; 2) articles having a bearing on the study of the activities, manners, customs and characteristics of contemporary primitive peoples, such as the Aborigines of Australia, and 3) geological specimens for the study of fossils.

“We’ve had a lot of difficulty with collectors items,” said Adamic.

The antiques have to be originals, of course, not reproductions, and must not have been commercially produced. “We had a traveler bring in a handmade wooden carving from Malaysia,” Adamic said. “He thought it was a genuine ethnographic sort of antique, but it was what we considered to be a commercial object made by a native craftsman in our time and he had to pay duty on it.”

The amount of duty that might be assessed if an item is not judged to be an antique or a collectors piece varies greatly, according to Adamic, but could reach as high as 110% of the item’s estimated value.

It is up to the traveler to establish the authenticity of the antique, through such means as a certificate of authenticity or letter from the seller.

“Travelers often lack justifying documentation,” Adamic said. “Letters of authenticity help support their claim that they have a legitimate antique, but the item would still be subject to examination if it aroused suspicion.”

Adamic said that customs has found so-called letters of authenticity, especially from Pacific Rim destinations such as Hong Kong and Singapore, to actually have been authored by shopping mall vendors and outlets not considered authoritative.

“These letters are just given for the purpose of making a sale, and it’s very much a ‘buyer beware’ sort of situation,” she said. “One passenger came through here with a piece of porcelain she had purchased in Hong Kong as an antique, and with a letter of authenticity. But we determined that the letter came from an unauthoritative source, and the passenger had to pay duty.”

Customs officials examine letters of authenticity primarily from the standpoint of whether qualified dealers sold the items. So what makes a qualified dealer?

“We can tell if a store is in this field or not, and if the dealer is reputable,” Adamic said, “and we have expert sources to call upon if needed.”

As long as items found not to be legitimate antiques are for personal and not commercial use, and there is no evidence of fraud, customs just assesses duty on the objects. Travelers can protest the duty assessment and petition for a review. Customs has a local laboratory to test items, and it may also solicit the opinions of museum consultants.

Adamic said that wooden objects found not to be genuine antiques, such as tables and chairs, come more often from Europe than elsewhere, while bogus porcelains, screens and brass items often come from Asian destinations such as Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea. How can travelers better protect themselves?

For starters, travelers should purchase items only at reputable stores that deal with antiques. If you have any doubts, contact the local tourist office. Ask for a dated letter of authenticity from a principal partner of the firm on the store’s letterhead.

Travelers should do their homework before buying abroad--that is, learn more about antiques, especially in terms of styles and periods. Visit antique stores in Southern California to gain an appreciation of the differences between older and newer items.

“Travelers should realize that this isn’t an exact science,” said Bob Schumacher, president of the Antique Guild in Los Angeles. “While there are telltale signs with some items, there is always a good deal of risk and judgment involved.”

When studying objects abroad, remember that just because something is handmade doesn’t necessarily make it an antique. Conversely, an item could be machine-made and still be an antique.

There are various aging methods used to make items such as porcelain, ceramics, carvings, maps and documents, appear to be antiques. Some of the methods include:

--”Distressing.” Blunt objects such as a chain or poker are used to create pockmarks or nicks on wooden objects such as tables and chairs. Sandpaper and steel wool, followed by refinishing, have also been employed to suggest greater age.

--Purposefully breaking and then reassembling the bottoms of pottery and porcelain pieces. Check out the bottom of porcelain pieces. Older pieces tend to be more gray and more translucent; newer ones appear more opaque and whitish. Burying items in the earth for a while is also used to age items.

--Doctoring of documents, such as maps and letters, by spraying the items with a light solution of coffee. The moisture can create wrinkles in the paper as well as a brownish patina.

To make new mirrors seem older, some of their silvering is occasionally removed, permitting one to see partially through the mirror like ordinary glass. Acid has also been used to age metal articles.

One ruse often employed, especially with wooden objects, is to take separate components that may really be old and then reconstruct these elements into a new combination passed off as an antique. While some of these cannibalized or hybrid objects may be quite valuable, and beautifully done, they’re still not antiques. Frames of paintings and other wood items have had fake worm holes put in them to suggest greater age.

According to Schumacher, recognizing falsely aged wood items can be more difficult since wood, unlike other materials such as metals and crystal, is constantly aging.

“Look carefully at any carved appointments,” he said. “If you see identically carved appointments, that suggests a machine process. If the appointments were hand-carved, there would probably be some differences. Check where drawers fit into grooves, as this area should show more wear.

“Examine items where they would normally show the most use to see if there are signs of wear and tear. Sometimes items such as a table or desk are purposefully sanded down at the edges to suggest use and greater age whereas the real wear and tear would show up more away from the edges.”

As for worm holes, beetles eat directly into wood, not along the surface, so if you spot a pattern or running groove, the holes are probably man-made.

Check to see if there is any buildup of dirt or grease on the items in question. An absence of such signs of use can be suspicious. The patina over heavily used areas, such as handles, would be somewhat different than other parts of the item, even if the object has received very good care.

Antique serving pieces may have hallmarks indicating the creator as well as year of manufacture. “You might be able to research some silver objects through a book of hallmarks,” Adamic said.