Reproductions can be good buy

Furniture periods are named for kings and queens, cabinetmakers and styles. One of the most interesting early styles that's coming back into fashion today has many names.

Neoclassical style (new Roman and Greek style) became popular in England in the second half of the 18th century. Furniture was light-colored, had thin arms and legs and almost no carving, and was often decorated with restrained, symmetrical designs reminiscent of Pompeii.

The Adam brothers, Robert and James, were architects in England during this time. They designed homes with large rooms and light walls, and realized the heavy dark Chippendale furniture popular at the time would not suit their rooms. So they designed neoclassical furniture to complement their architecture. The style was eventually called "Adam." The same design idea was soon used for porcelains, silver and other decorative pieces. Today you can buy Adam-style furniture for attractive prices, but original 18th-century pieces are expensive.

An Adam-style painted satinwood vitrine, a glass-paneled cabinet that holds a collection of glass or china, sold recently for $3,910 at Brunk Auctions in North Carolina. It's decorated with satinwood veneers and oval panels framing painted pictures of classical ladies. An expert could tell it was made in the 20th century because of construction features that don't show on the front. Most of us would just see a piece of furniture that would look great in any room.

Think about buying true antiques or old reproductions when furnishing your house. Both kinds of furniture can be found in antiques shops. Either type can turn out to be a good buy.

Can you give me an idea of the value of a bottle that looks like a hand holding a bottle?

Your hand-and-bottle combination is an example of a figural bottle -- a bottle made in any recognizable shape, from animals to sports equipment to body parts. The first bottles shaped like yours were made about 1890 in France for wine. In the late 1800s, the French produced a number of glass figural bottles, and a hand holding an item, such as a bottle, gun or mirror, was very popular. Copies have been made ever since.

I have a lamp with a stained glass shade that's marked "Lamb Brothers & Greene." Do you know where it was made?

Lamb Brothers & Greene was in business in Chicago in the early 1900s. The firm made lamps with stained glass shades and metal bases as well as other types of lamps.

Years ago, my father gave me a two-sided porcelain New Jersey license plate. One side is the 1913 plate that's white with red numbers, and the other side is the 1914 plate that's red with white numbers and has an official New Jersey certification seal. Any idea why the plate is two-sided? And what is it worth?

New Jersey issued porcelain license plates from 1909 to 1915, and the ones you describe are the 1913 and 1914 plates. It does not appear that the state ever issued double-sided plates. Look closely at your plate to be sure someone did not glue two plates together at one time. Either plate would sell separately for about $50.

Pricing

Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.

Cherry pitter, cast iron, table model, patented Nov. 17, 1863, 11 inches, $85.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus poster with image of clown Pat Valdo, white ground, red letters, 1942, 19 x 27 inches, $100.

Bonnie doll, of Bonnie & Clyde movie, stuffed cloth, vinyl and painted face, faux fur hair, black suit, 1967, 17 inches, $145.

On the Wing cigars inner box label, cattail wreath, marshy landscape, ducks in flight, 11-color bar, American Lithographic Co., New York, 1901, 7½ x 7 inches, $310.

38-star American flag, cotton, used between July 4, 1877, and July 3, 1890, 28-in. stick, 13½ x 9 inches, $450.

Queen Anne lowboy, oak, 3 drawers above scrolled apron, spoon feet, 18th century, 30 x 33 inches, $710.

Embroidered and appliqued velvet folk art wall hanging, stuffed-animal figures, heart center, leafy vine, pine trees, sun, birds, fish & house, dated 1887, 18 x 18 inches, $1,525.

Quezal vase, King Tut pattern, iridescent blue ground, applied foot with gold iridescence & pink highlights, signed, 12 inches, $2,185.

Write to Kovels, King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.