New furniture has the cachet of past styles Antiques: Modern manufacturers create reproductions of pieces made in other countries and other centuries.

In the 18th century, the Chinese made furniture that resembled the English pieces popular at the time. The furniture was sold to sea captains sailing back home.

The English made other pieces in England that used pagodas and bamboo as part of their Chinese-inspired designs.

Today's furniture makers often make copies of an earlier period. French designs with lavish fabrics and romantic pictures have long been favored for formal living and dining rooms. A furniture store might offer Louis XIV rococo style, or the more luxurious Louis XV style and even Louis XVI neoclassical style. They all have carvings, swags, metal hardware and mountings.

The original French furniture of the 18th century sells today for hundreds of thousands of dollars. But collectors can buy 20th-century copies of such pieces for moderate prices.

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Pub Date: 7/20/97