Furniture styles before the 20th century are often named after the rulers or governments of the time.

Here in the United States, we have furniture periods like William and Mary, Federal, and Victorian. It follows that furniture styles, like their namesakes, are usually particular to the country or region. However, contemporary styles from different countries often share similarities.

Take the style of the Second French Empire, which lasted from 1852 to 1870, the reign of Napoleon III. It drew inspiration from many past styles from antiquity to the 18th century.

Decoration was paramount; furniture was made of rich, dark wood like ebony or mahogany and adorned with inlaid patterns, often in exotic materials like lacquer or mother-of-pearl.

Upholstery was lush; wood surfaces were shaped and carved. New tools and industrial processes allowed manufacturers to create these complex designs much faster and cheaper than traditional craftsmanship.

All these characteristics — recreation of historic styles, luxurious materials, ornate decorations, all facilitated by the Industrial Revolution — could easily describe the Victorian furniture made in England and America about the same time.

Still, Second Empire, or Napoleon III furniture, is its own visually distinct style. If anything, it is even more extravagant than Victorian furniture, which holds true for the furniture style in reproductions and revivals, too.

This table, which sold for $2,112 at John Moran Auctioneers, was made c. 2000 in the Napoleon III style.

Covered in faux malachite (an opaque green stone often used in decorative arts) and heavy, intricate gilding, adorned with leafy garlands and figural paw feet, it is anything but subtle.

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Q: There is an oval plate or tray that has been in my mother’s family for more time than I can remember (I am 75 years old). It is white with a blue border and four blue designs with many arms that look like candelabra or menorahs. The date on the back is “Dec 1563.” One foot is broken, but a restorer could fix it. Can you tell me anything about it and its value?

A: The “Dec 1563” mark is not a date but a decoration number. Many pottery manufacturers in the Netherlands, Germany, and Austria used similar marks, with the word “Dec” plus a number, in the late 19th to mid-20th century.

The use of blue and white suggests Delft, a soft pottery with a thick, opaque tin glaze that has been made in Holland since the 1600s. However, most Delft with a “Dec” mark is usually also marked with the maker’s name. The design on your plate, stylized and based on linear forms, sounds like the style of the Vienna Secession movement, which was active from about 1897 to 1914.

This art movement is comparable to the art nouveau and Arts and Crafts movements that were popular about the same time. Many Secessionist designers created pottery and tiles with blue and white linear or geometric designs, but not all of them are marked. Ceramic trays with similar designs of comparable ages sell for about $150 to $200.

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Q: I have a print that I bought as part of a lot. It is a picture of a woman from the shoulders up. She has long brown hair and wears a red headdress with gold coins and a light green dress. The picture is signed “A. Asti.” It is captioned “A Persian Beauty” and was printed in the Chicago Tribune. What can you tell me about the artist? What is the print worth?

A: Your print is a copy of a painting by Angelo Asti, who was born in 1847. He is known for his bust portraits of women that appealed to late 19th and early 20th-century exoticism. His paintings were reproduced as lithograph prints and used for advertisements in the early 1900s. They appeared on calendars, packaging, and metal trays. Prints on paper were also given away as advertising premiums.

Asti prints on paper from about 1900 can sell for anywhere from $20 to $200, based on the rarity of the print and its condition. Check the captions on your print for any copyright dates or information. Asti prints have been reproduced, and recent prints have lower values. Vintage postcards with Asti prints generally sell for under $10. However, prints on other media, like porcelain plaques or metal advertising trays, sell for higher prices. Asti oil paintings can sell for over $1,000.

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Tip: Do not wax any furniture that has a gilded, painted, lacquered, or flaking finish.

Current prices

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.

â-  Doll, baby, composition, molded blond hair, blue green sleep eyes, open mouth, two teeth, cloth body, hard plastic arms and legs, 1930s, 25 inches, $40.

â-  Toy, waiter, holding plate, black hair, blue eyes, mustache, white hat and coat, cloth apron, blue shoes, yellow wheels, tin, windup, TPS, Japan,

7 inches, $70.

â-  Coverlet, woven, blue and white, three columns, repeating flower urns, leafy wreath, perching birds, architectural borders, double border on two sides, fringe, 88 x 80 inches, $90.

â-  Advertising, display set, Kraft Foods, figural, circus theme, wagon, clown, tiger, horse, elephant, embossed, foil, Wonderflex Corp., c. 1970, one sheet, six pieces, $135.

â-  Baccarat, wine, Rhine, topaz bowl, clear stem, six stacked knops, dome foot,

9 inches, pair, $195.

â-  Typewriter, Underwood, black enamel, carrying case, 12¢ x 12 x 6 inches, $240.

â-  Furniture, table, oak, round leather top, nailhead trim, barley twist legs, X-shape stretcher, ball feet, England, early 20th century, 26 x 21 inches, $340.

â-  Celadon, jar, pierced lid, hardstone finial, seated figure, globular, tapered base, Chinese, 13 inches, $900.

â-  Furniture, highboy, Queen Anne, maple, walnut, two short over three graduated drawers, long drawer over three short drawers, fan on center drawer, scalloped apron, cabriole legs, pad feet, 69 x 40 inches, $1,160.