Antique artwork has historically been framed elaborately. Today, these frames are highly coveted by collectors, museums and galleries all over the world. There are many types of frames, including American folk art frames, early 19th-century small frames, and renaissance art frames. Antique frames date as old as the art itself most of the time--with today's existing frames dating back to the 1500s.

An antique picture frame, like a piece of artwork, usually has to be restored before it can be sold. Hundreds of years ago, frames were held together by clay called bole. Bole was laid down between a mixture of glue and chalk called gesso and is often the determining factor in discovering the original date of the picture frame. Red bole is characteristic of older, European frames, while blue or gray bole is a telltale sign of pre-1900 American work.

Antique Artistry
Antique frames can be superbly ornate. Artists used a composition of chalk and resins to mold ornaments and shapes on the outside of the picture frame for decoration. Gilded oak is also a style of ornamentation that involved laying gold leaf directly onto the oak wood molding. This was popular during the Arts and Crafts movement in America (approximately between the years 1870-1920) and was pioneered by artist Charles Eastlake. Silver gilt undergoes the same process, only with an orange or honey-colored lacquer.

In the 1990s, a surge in antique frames' popularity boosted prices into the tens of thousands of dollars. It is not uncommon to hear of a picture frame selling for $10,000-$20,000 at a fine gallery auction. Of course, more inexpensive frames can be had, especially those from the last century. 19th-century frames are characterized by molded (rather than carved, as with older pieces) frames and gilded or painted wood bases.