This cabinet in the Adam style was made to display porcelains or other decorative items. The 94-by-42-by-28-inch wooden and glass piece is covered with figured satinwood veneers. It sold for ,910 at Brunk Auctions in Asheville, N.C.

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.

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

A: 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.

Q: I have a lamp with a stained glass shade that’s marked “Lamb Brothers & Greene.” Do you know where it was made?

A: 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.

Q: Please help me identify the clock that sat on my mother’s mantel since the mid 1950s. The case is porcelain and is in the shape of a crown. The only marks I can read on it are a series of patent numbers, a sticker that says “Oxford Metal Spinning Co.” and, on the clock face, the phrase, “Clock Movement by Sessions.” Is this a rare and valuable clock?

A: The Sessions Clock Co. was in business in Bristol, Conn., from 1903 to 1958. At first it made windup black mantel and kitchen clocks, but it switched to electric clocks in 1936. A few Sessions electric clocks were mounted in porcelain cases marked “Oxford Metal Spinning Co.” That company may have made some of the inner workings for Sessions. Like similar Sessions electric clocks, yours would sell for about $50.

Tip: Dryer sheets can be used to get rid of dog hair on upholstered furniture.

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