Design Style
Different styles or decorations reflected the fashions of different eras.Therefore it follows that those design styles can be used to date objects.If you can build up a visual vocabulary of generic design styles, you can create an initial assessment of date before the rest of the identification starts.
Steph illustrated these main design styles in the video, but obviously there are many more:
- Neo classical (Mid 17thC =>)
- Gothic (late 18thC - mid 19thC)
- Aesthetic and Arts & Crafts (1870s – 1920s)
- Art Nouveau (1890s-1910s)
- 1920s neo classical
- Art Deco (1920s -1930s)
- 1950s & 60s
Resource:
The V&A website has a useful starting point to explore design styles.
firstBASE will also hold more resources to take your knowledge further.