One of the most interesting definitions of antiques dates back to the end of the XIX century and is given in the first volume of the Encyclopedic Dictionary of F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron (1890). The peculiarity of this dictionary entry is that it is not written to the word "antiques", although the very concept of "antiques" occurs in it. The article gives an interpretation of the now obsolete word "antique dealer" - "connoisseur of antiquities and archaeologist", a person engaged in the acquisition and sale of antiquities. The duties of an antique dealer, according to the dictionary, included not only the evaluation and examination of antiquities, but also the trade in antiques, old autographs, art objects, engravings, polytypes, drawings, etc. Over time, trade involved antiques in a market whose services became increasingly numerous and diverse. Accordingly, the activities of antique dealers were enriched with new skills and abilities. In addition to the examination and evaluation of works of art, the antique dealer must understand the issues of insurance and the formation of private and corporate collections, as well as the issues of description and cataloguing. But this does not exclude the perception of the antique dealer as a scientist engaged in the study of antiquities, a connoisseur of cultural history, a popularizer, a philosopher and a psychologist. At the Institute of Art Business and Antiques, all curricula ("Art History. Attribution and examination of antiques", "Gallery business and collecting. Antiques", Management and Marketing in the Antique Business", "Management and Marketing in Contemporary Art") allow lovers and collectors of antiques to become antiques in the old sense of the word - "connoisseur of antiquities and archaeologist", as well as to obtain new related specialties in the field of modern auction business, gallery business, management and marketing in antiques, management and marketing in contemporary art. All these specializations not only expand the idea of the profession of an antique dealer, but also derive a new formula for success. In order to be a successful antique dealer, gallerist, manager in the field of contemporary art and antiques, it is necessary to become a true expert in his field, to master the secrets of nobility. The word "nobility" comes from the French verb connaître, the meanings of which very accurately express the essence of the profession. If you go through all the headings of the dictionary that interpret the word connaître, you can make an ideal portrait of a professional in the field of evaluation and examination, collecting, buying and selling works of art. Withonnaître – to know, to be aware, to understand, to know, to know, to find out, to experience, to acquire, to experience, to understand, to be competent. French proverbs with this word add touches to the portrait of a person closely related to evaluation and expertise:

Colloquial expressions expand our understanding of the properties of an antique: 

Even the outdated expression "connaître ce fourbi" - "to know what is what" - allows you to define the essence of nobility.

Modern education makes it possible to get a specialty, even to become a polymath, but you can master the nobility only when the training is of an applied nature. Only by acquiring skills and abilities in a new business for yourself, you can join the nobility. The Institute of Art Business and Antiques teaches disciplines of practical importance that allow you to embark on the path of nobility:

All the words that are presented in our vocabulary are taken from glossaries to academic disciplines and give an idea of what constitutes nobility.

Bonistics is an auxiliary historical discipline that studies obsolete banknotes and bonds as historical documents reflecting the economic and political situation of society at that time. It originated at the beginning of the XX century and is closely related to numismatics. Collecting paper banknotes is also called bonistics. (From the glossary to the course "Numismatics and Bonistics").

Ravening is the preparation on the surface of parts from carbon or low-alloy steel and cast iron of a layer of iron oxides with a thickness of 1-10μm. Blackening has a twofold purpose: 1) to protect against rust and 2) to destroy the illumination of metal surfaces. The blued surface can come in a variety of shades, from brown to black; dark brown is given to field guns and black to rifle barrels. (From the glossary to the course "Examination of weapons and objects of military art").

Engraving – used to create more complex and sophisticated patterns, scenes, landscapes, portraits, etc. resort to cutting with a copper wheel or engraving with a diamond tip. The modern technique of faceting and engraving dates back to the end of the 16th century, when in Prague the court jeweler of Emperor Rudolf II K. Lehmann revived ancient methods and techniques. (From the glossary to the course "Attribution and examination of works of artistic metal").

Dealer - art dealer - a constantly operating buyer and seller of works of art in the art market. A dealer differs from a gallerist in that he works solely for the purpose of extracting direct material profit from his activities. As a rule, the works are not taken by him on the commission, but are bought. The dealer seeks to purchase works in bulk for retail sale. (From the glossary to the course "Basics of the art dealer profession and the modern antique market").

JEAN-FRANÇOIS AUBIN (1721 – 1763) was an outstanding French cabinetmaker of German origin, the creator of new furniture forms, designs and décor, a great marquetryist of the louis XV era, a brilliant mechanic. He went down in history as a specialist in furniture "with a secret" and transforming furniture, as well as the author of the famous "King's Bureau" - a cylinder bureau made for Louis XV. (From the glossary to the course "Attribution and examination of furniture and restoration methods").

Oxide patination - oxide patination is obtained as a result of the restoration of copper salt salts on the surface of bronze bronze. (From the glossary to the course "Attribution and examination of works of artistic metal").

Izvod - a vault, a list, a canonical sample for painting an icon or fresco on a particular subject. (From the glossary to the course "Attribution and examination of icons").

Kalasiris (Egyptian- Greek kalasizis) - the national dress of women, and then men, in ancient Egypt. Kalasaris had a simple shape and was a shirt sewn from two rectangular cloths, with two or one wide straps. Such clothes were worn by members of the family of pharaohs and slave women. The difference in social status was not in the cut, but in the quality of the fabric: the nobility wore kalasaris from thin fabrics, peasant women and slaves - from coarse ones. (From the glossary to the course "History and attribution of the costume").

Levkas - in iconography the name of the soil, which is a chalk, stirred on animal or fish oil glue with the addition of linseed oil. It is applied in several layers on a specially prepared board. At the same time, the preservation of the levkas is better, the thinner and more uniform the layers applied were. After drying, it is sanded. In ancient Russia, levkas were polished with horsetail stalks; modern iconographers use sandpaper for this purpose. A minted levkas is a levkas covered with gold leaf and processed with an ornament made by coins. (From the glossary to the course "History and attribution of the costume").

Mezzo-tinto - "black manner" (Italian. mezzo - medium, tinto - painted) - a type of engraving on metal (engravings of gravure printing). The main fundamental difference from other styles of etching is not the creation of a system of recesses - strokes and dots, but the ironing of light places on a grain board. The effects achieved by mezzotintto cannot be obtained by other "tonal" manners. In other words, the image required in the impression is created due to the different gradation of light areas on a black background. (From the glossary to the course "Attribution and expertise of second-hand books and book graphics").

The denomination of the coin - (Latin nominalis - nominal) - the designation of dignity on coins and banknotes. Coins received their names from weight units, if the name of the coin coincided with the content of a valuable metal in it. Over time, the weight of coins decreased, and their names did not change. (From the glossary to the course "Numismatics and Bonistics").

Oliphation is the final process in icon painting, the final coating of the paint layer with a thin layer of linseed oil to protect against adverse effects, to enhance the brightness of the painting and to give a commonality of the colorful tone. (From the glossary to the course "Attribution and examination of icons").

Provenance is the history of the existence of a work, including confirmed facts of participation in exhibitions, belonging to private collections, mentions in literature, publications in catalogs. The presence of confirmed provenance reduces the risks of incorrect attribution, increases the liquidity of the work, and often serves as a factor correcting its value. In particular, the fact that a work belongs to a landmark collection in the past can lead to a multiple increase in its price during auctions. (From the glossary to the course "Consulting in the field of collectibles").

Recamier - Napoleon's victorious campaigns, paying close attention to ancient forms, secular society, which is already somewhat bored with excessive pomp - all this poses new tasks for artists and architects, namely, the creation of a qualitatively new, more rational and strict style that would correspond to the era of modern times and new needs. On the one hand, the new style was supposed to emphasize the greatness and status of the emerging empire, on the other hand, functionalism and martial law required monumentality, severity of forms and ceremonial mood. Studying the heritage of Ancient Egypt and Rome, artists adopt their main qualities - convenience and severity of forms, simplicity, ornaments and military motifs. The static nature of furniture in this case is interpreted only as the power and steadfastness of the new empire.
Among the new types of furniture that have appeared, couches are of particular importance. These are perhaps one of the few interior items in which the presence of previous styles remained - delicate, smoothly curved S-shaped backs and armrests were the best suited for secular ladies, gracefully emphasizing the sophistication and shape of the body.
One of the first such couches was captured in his painting "Portrait of Madame Recamier" (1800) by the outstanding artist of the new era F. Gerard. The hitherto unusual contours of the armrests and backs of the couch were favorably received by the court nobility as a standard of grace and restraint of forms, and with a small footrest as tenderness and, some, relaxed mannerisms and refinement.
Subsequently, the couches acquire new, bolder shapes, but their main attribute - the wavy back, remains unchanged, changing only the angle of inclination and the degree of curvature. Madame Recamier, who at that time in France had great fame and a huge number of fans, gave these couches a second name - they began to be called the couch of Madame Recamier or, more simply, the Couch recamier. Thus, in history, once again the proper name becomes a household name. Since the couches were intended exclusively for women, their manufacture was approached with special care - expensive varieties of wood were used as a material for the frame: walnut, mahogany, rosewood. In the spirit of the times, and obeying the laws of style, bronze linings were widely used, often successfully masking the places of articulations, and sometimes as independent decorative elements. Almost no socialite could do without a couch anymore - now it has become a place for a short rest, receiving guests, reading books, thinking ...
Silk fabric with embroidered gold threads of stars, satin of high grades, leather, tapestries are used as upholstery of couches. Upholstery motifs are either simple ornamentation, or restrained, rare floral patterns. Couches, for greater convenience, are equipped with independent cylindrical pillows - rollers - while one large or two narrow pillows are used for the headboard, there are varieties of couches in which a pillow in the form of a hemisphere acts as a footrest. The legs of the couch are made in the form of small columns, more expensive models are "put" on the paws of birds and animals, often equipped with small rollers for easy movement.
Recamier couches, in fact, owe their appearance largely to the form of the ancient Greek chair for women - klismos, since the fascination with ancient art during the empire acquired a huge amount of money.To create a new style Thus, after 2000 years of non-existence, the klismos was revived in the forms of backs not only of couches, but also in seating furniture, sofas. Couches were far from cheap, they were inaccessible to commoners not only financially, but, first of all, by status - couches were a privilege exclusively of the aristocracy. (From the glossary to the course "Attribution and examination of furniture and restoration methods").

Stylization is a deliberate imitation of an artistic style characteristic of any author, genre, trend, art and culture of a certain social environment, nationality, era. It is often associated with a rethinking of the artistic content that forms the basis of the imitated style. (From the glossary to the course "Methodology of Art Historical Expertise").

Etching is the use of technological techniques for the controlled removal of the surface layer of material from the workpiece under the action of specially selected chemical reagents for applying a relief pattern during the artistic processing of materials (usually metals). Etching is carried out by chemical and electrochemical methods. (From the glossary to the course "Attribution and examination of works of artistic metal").

A deep relief is a sculptural relief in which objects and figures are represented by volumes "from the inside", deepened into the conditional planar background of the relief. (From the glossary to the course "Expert and valuation of works of jewelry art").

Filigree (scan) is a jewelry technique that uses an openwork or soldered pattern of thin gold, silver wire on a metal background. (From the glossary to the course "Attribution and expertise of Russian jewelry art").

A "humpet skirt" (Humpelrock or hobble skirt) is a long ladies' skirt so narrowed at the ankle that women limp while walking. (From the glossary to the course "History and attribution of the costume").

Tsek - cracks of glaze on ceramics, which are a manufacturing defect. (From the glossary to the course "Attribution and examination of porcelain and ceramics").

Quarters are vessels in the form of a bottle with a screw-on lid. (From the glossary to the course "Attribution and examination of works of artistic metal").

A key is a narrow bar of wood that connects (fastens) several separate boards together at the back, and (or) serves to protect the board from deformation. (From the glossary to the course "Attribution and examination of icons").

Encaustic (from the Greek enkáiō - burn) - a technique of wax painting. The binder for colorful pigments is wax. Wax paints were known in ancient Egypt, but encaustic painting was widely used and developed in Greco-Roman art, especially since the 5th century BC. e. The most famous works made in this technique are the Fayum portraits. Molten paints were applied to the board with a brush or cestrum - a metal rod with a spatula at the end. The wax quickly solidified, forming an uneven surface, which enhanced the impression of volumetricity of the image. Sometimes, when depicting eyelashes or to deepen the shadow, deep grooves were carried out with the edge of the cestre. Encaustic works are characterized by a special texture of writing. In some Fayum portraits, the meticulous elaboration of the face is combined with a broader pictorial manner in the transfer of clothes painted in more liquid strokes. The authors of other works resorted to the melting of paints to create a smooth, as if lacquered surface (at some distance from the portrait, they held a brazier with hot coals, from which the paints were heated and fused into a single mass). The Hellenistic technique of encausticism was also used in early examples of icon painting, later giving way to tempera painting. (From the glossary to the course "Techniques and Materials of Fine Arts").

Yulina is a sculptor's tool for drilling recesses in a solid material. Unlike a drill, it is powered by a special bow. (From the glossary to the course "Techniques and Materials of Fine Arts").

Color brightness is the quality of a color associated with its color tone, saturation and lightness and causes a feeling of increased light intensity and increased illumination of the surface. (From the glossary to the course "Attribution and examination of painting and graphics").