Gesso: plaster and size used as a base for gilt decoration usually on pictures frames and furniture

Gilding: gold foil applied to furniture, ceramics, picture frames, etc.

Girandole: a mirror with candle sconces attached

Glasgow School: the style developed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh which influenced his generation of designers

Goss Crested China: A type of souvenir ware manufactured in Britain from the mid 19th century onwards.

Grandfather clock: see longcase clock

Hammer price: in an auction, the price for which a lot is sold

Hard paste: a hard shiny porcelain made from feldspar and kaolin (china clay), this is the true porcelain that originated in China

Inlay: a decorative technique where small pieces of ivory, enamel or other material is put into specially hollowed out areas on furniture and treen

Inro: Small flat Japanese boxes, usually beautifully decorated, made to hand from the obi or sash

Ironstone: A kind of strong pottery perfected and patented in the early 19th century by Miles Mason.

Japanning: because genuine Japanese lacquer was not available in Europe in the late 17th century so substitutes like shellac were used to imitate the effect

Jasperware: A fine unglazed coloured stoneware perfected by Josiah Wedgwood

LAPADA: London and Provincial Antique Dealers` Asssociation

Linenfold: a style of carving, used on panelling and furniture, designed to look like folded linen

Longcase clock: a floor standing tall clock, often incorrectly called a grandfather clock

Mackintosh, Charles Rennie: Innovative and influential architect, designer of interiors, furniture and other objects and artist.

Maiolica: Italian tin-glazed pottery, usually colourfully decorated

Majolica: usually applied to English made tin-glazed pottery decorated in the style of Italian maiolica

Marquetry: decorative veneers used on furniture (see also parquetry)

Marriage: a single piece made up from more than one piece of furniture, e.g. a dresser may be made up from a low cupboard and a separate and unrelated set of shelves - a piece like this should be avoided

Millefiori: often seen in paperweights, this technique uses coloured rods fused together and then cut up and enclosed in clear glass to produce patterns

Netsuke: (pronounced netski) small beautifully carved Japanese objects which act as toggles to hang things from the obi (sash)

Objets de vertu: sometimes known as objects of virtue, they are small precious pretty trinkets like highly decorated gold snuff boxes, fob seals, scent bottles (note: it is a mistake to mix up the French and English terms, e.g. objects of vertu)

Ormolu: gilt-bronze used to decorative effect on furniture, clocks, etc

Over-restored: some restoration to antiques is often necessary but it has to be done with care so that all the patina and signs of age are not destroyed otherwise the piece will lose value

Papier mache: pulped paper molded into decorative objects like trays and boxes

Parcel gilt: partly gilded (see gilding)

Parian ware: fine grain porcelain resembling marble, first produced in the mid 19th century at the Copeland factory

Parquetry: similar to marquetry but the veneers are used to form geometric patterns

Patina: the surface built up over time on a piece of furniture, or other object, from continuous polishing and use

Pediment: a triangular gable on top of a piece of furniture in the style found on top of a classical temple

Pembroke table: Possibly named after the Countess of Pembroke, these small tables are characterised by short drop-leaves at either end

Pewter: an alloy of tin and lead often used for mugs, plates, etc.