Q In your column you never seem to fail to emphasize the importance of an original finish, but with all the talented craftspeople reproducing Arts and Crafts furniture, isn’t it possible that what we think is an original finish on an antique could be a new finish, carefully duplicated by someone who has studied Arts and Crafts dyes and finishes?

A Possible? Yes. Likely? No.

Just as there is no perfect crime, there is no perfect refinishing job. If a refinished piece slips by unnoticed, the fault lies as much with the buyer as it does with the refinisher, for that simply tells me someone did not look closely enough—or in the right places.

To learn what to look for, begin by studying several pieces which you know still have their original finish. But don’t spend all your time poring over the top of a table or the front of a desk. Instead, get a flashlight and crawl underneath. Pull out and turn over each of the drawers. Slide the piece away from the wall so that you can inspect the back.

What are you looking for? That faint, yet distinguishable line where the original dye, stain or finish meets raw wood. One hundred years ago, a craftsman did not bother to dye, stain or finish the underside of a drawer, a table leaf or a cabinet to the same extent as he did the top. It simply was not practical or economical.

Wood is impressionable and it is porous. It does not easily give back what it has absorbed. If, a hundred years later, a second craftsman follows the first, taking off a worn original finish with a combination of chemical removers or sandpaper, then replacing it with a new finish, a close inspection of where the original dye, stain or finish met raw wood will reveal his work, just as each wave leaves a new mark on the beach.

If a piece has been refinished, recoated or “enhanced,” somewhere on it you will find a drip, a run, a swipe of the stain rag, the scratches of sandpaper, a scar left by the chemical stripper or a brush mark that you immediately realize is not original. Once you find the first clue, the others will come tumbling out.

When you are studying examples that show no sign of having been altered, notice four other things, starting with wear. No piece survives a hundred years without some sign of wear in all the logical places. If the wear isn’t there on your piece, perhaps the refinisher replaced the lost color. Second, look for dirt, dust and cobwebs. Spiders love the dark underside of a bookcase or china cabinet. If you find no dirt, no dust and no spider eggs, you have to wonder why. Third, use your nose. Stick your face inside a bookcase or desk with an original finish and inhale deeply. Learn to recognize the scent of an aging shellac finish. It has its own unique smell, not unlike that of your grandmother’s attic. New dyes, stains, lacquer and shellac, regardless how carefully applied, do not come with that original scent.

Finally, inspect the shopmark using a magnifying glass. An Arts and Crafts refinisher knows the value of a shopmark and would have either worked around it or protected it during the refinishing process with masking tape. If you look closely, you may find a faint outline around the shopmark that distinguishes the original finish on top of it from the new finish the craftsman laid down next to it.

So, if you conclude that the piece has been refinished, should you buy it? If you like it, the answer is yes—provided the price reflects the fact that it has been refinished and that you realize it won’t increase in value to the same degree as an identical piece with its original finish.