Information and resource for Chinese Antique Furniture

Buying Guide for Chinese Antique Furniture
Chinese Antique Accessories
Faux Oriental Gifts and Homeware
Oriental Folding Screen / Room Dividers
History of Chinese Furniture
Glossary
Map of China

Buying Guide for Chinese Antique Furniture

The golden age of Chinese furniture production is usually defined as the years between 1550 and 1750, a time of great prosperity, and during the transition from the Ming to the Qing dynasties, a time of political upheaval and turmoil. That transition between the dynasties fostered creativity and innovation in design in all the decorative arts. Furniture made during this period reflects this transition; many examples are based on much earlier forms, and others are entirely new.

So how do you know whether a piece is authentic and fairly priced? The value of a piece of antique furniture depends on five factors: its age, materials, overall condition, craftsmanship and rarity. An understanding of these factors will therefore help you to make informed judgements.

1. Age
All other things being equal, the older the piece, the more valuable it's likely to be. It could have particular historical value, it could be very rare or in exceptionally good condition, or it could have a wonderful patina.

And how do you determine the age of a lacquer piece? You need to consider three factors: the style, the workmanship, and the level of oxidation of the wood and lacquer.

Style
This is not necessarily the best indication, since the style of an old piece can be copied by later craftsmen. However, to a certain degree, it can give you some useful clues about the authenticity and value of a piece.

In classical Chinese furniture, there are two basic forms: pieces without an inset panel between the top and the apron (known as the 'waistless' form), and pieces with an inset panel (known as the 'waisted' form). Waistless furniture, such as the narrow table and the recessed-leg table, is very ancient and already existed in the Shang dynasty (16th - 11th century BC) and the Zhou dynasty (11th century - 221 BC). Waisted furniture appeared much later.

In many Ming dynasty paintings, we can see that the interiors were quite simple and the furnishings rather sparse. It was not until the Qing dynasty that rooms became increasingly crowded and the furniture more elaborate.

Ming designs (1368 - 1644) are relatively uncomplicated, with the basic outline of the form usually consisting of straight lines and simple curves. Common features include horse-hoof feet, giant arm braces, ice-plate edges, protruding arms etc. Qing designs (1644 - 1911) are usually more complex, with numerous small elements and elaborately carved decoration.

Not surprisingly, some furniture combined features from both periods, and plain and decorated furniture co-existed, satisfying the demands of a markedly diverse audience.

Workmanship
Not surprisingly, craftsmen in different periods used different kinds of techniques, which tended to change every 40 to 50 years.

Oxidization of the wood and lacquer
When buying wooden furniture, collectors need to consider the extent of wear and tear on an item (though a piece that was known to have been used by a famous or powerful person can be valuable even if it is not in immaculate condition).

As for lacquer finishes, they can be considered a common denominator in traditional Chinese furniture. Throughout China, most furniture was finished with lacquer coatings to provide durable, sealed surfaces as well as decorative effects - a technique practised since ancient times. In fact, lacquer is one the best indicators of the age of a piece, since lacquer ages and oxidizes at predictable, measurable rates.

Lacquering processes varied from period to period. In the Song and Ming periods, for instance, lacquer was generally applied over a fabric underlay (daqi), which was soaked in a mixture of thickened lacquer and pasted onto the surface of the wood. Sometimes the entire surface was covered with fabric; sometimes small strips were pasted over the joints only.

The base-coat was generally composed of raw lacquer mixed with a binder powder made of horn, bone, shell, stone, brick, pottery or charcoal. This thickened filler coat had high adhesive properties as well as stability and hardness. However, this labour-intensive technique eventually fell out of fashion, and in the Ming and Qing periods customers preferred pieces with only a thin layer of lacquer and no fabric underlays.

The finely crackled surfaces and mellow tones of lacquer finishes have been a study of connoisseurship for centuries

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2. Material

Timber and lacquer are the most widely used materials in furniture, with the lacquering technique or process having a significant affect on the value of a piece. Other materials used are stone, marble, shell, coral, pearl, ivory, bone, gold leaf or various metals. Again, all other things being equal, the harder the timber, the higher the value of the furniture (for instance, huanghuali is regarded as the hardest and most expensive timber, while pine is the softest and least expensive).

Timber can be classified into six categories. In descending order of hardness (and value), they are:
1. huanghuali (yellow rosewood), zitan (sandalwood), jichimu (Chicken Wing wood)
2. hong-mu (blackwood), tielimu (ironwood), jarjingmu, wu-mu (ebony), ying-mu (burl), hua-mu (gingko)
3. ju-mu (southern elm wood), hetaomu (walnut wood), huang-yang mu (box wood), lung-yan mu (tiger-skin wood), zuo-mu (Oak)
4. nan-mu, kundianmu, shizimu (persimmon)
5. yu-mu (elm), zhang-mu (camphor), hualimu (rosewood), huai-mu (Locust), tao-mu (peach), li-mu (Pear)
6. pai-mu, song-mu (pine), shang-mu (cedat), qiu-mu (Catalpa), duan-mu (poplar), Bai-yang mu (paulownia), wu-tong (Kiri)

3. Overall Condition

The better the original condition of the piece, the higher its value will be. If a piece of furniture is missing some parts, so that a lot of replacement work is needed, the relative value is lower. If restoration is carried out only on the joints, the aprons and near the bottom of the piece, it is generally accepted as being intact. It is desirable if the fittings (in most cases, the brassware) are original. Patina is valued since this can indicate how good the condition of a piece is, and sometimes its age.

4. Craftsmanship
Craftsmanship is an important factor in determining the value of a piece of furniture. Sometimes, when the craftsmanship is superb, a piece made out of elm wood can be more valuable and collectable than a piece made out of hong-mu (blackwood), all other things being equal.

The level of craftsmanship is assessed by looking at the proportion of the details, the accuracy of the joints, and the piece's fluidity, complexity (or simplicity) and dynamism.

5. Rarity
This is actually a supply-and-demand issue - if a certain style is not easily available in the market then pieces in that style are considered collectable, and their value in the market goes up.

For example, when the trend in the market is for classical Ming-style furniture but not very many pieces are available, then the price and value of pieces will increase. Similarly, pieces with special features or unusual functions tend to be more valuable. For instance, hunting chairs, which were rare in the old days, could easily be ruined simply due to the conditions in which they were used, so not many of them have survived. They are therefore considered highly collectable, and their value has increased over time.

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Chinese Antique Accessories

Chinese Antique Accessories, perhaps more than anything else, tell the story of daily life in the Qing Dynasty and the unique sense of form that makes Chinese antiques so compelling and Delightful.

Baskets, jewellery boxes, food containers, lunch boxes, birdcages, calligraphy brushes, brush pots, rice baskets... there is a rich variety of these smaller items and they speak volumes.

Rice containers, for example, come in several sizes and shapes, often with painted exteriors. Red wedding baskets were taken to a bride on her wedding day and contained food or a small gift. Rice baskets with a thick weave transported grain from the market. And birdcages came in small, delicate sizes for grandfathers to take their pet birds out for a daily walk.

Document boxes designed to double as pillows tell us something of the dangers of travel in China. These boxes let travellers sleep on their valuables. Clever jewellery boxes could open to reveal both a hidden mirror and hidden compartments to store valuables.

And leather boxes made to hold a lady's hair ornaments or accessories were often painted with scenes of children at play or groups of ladies at their leisure.

But more than utility, these accessories display wonderful shapes. The wedding baskets with hourglass handles. The rice measures shaped somewhat like a beehive. Necklace boxes in the form of a donut! Words fall short in these descriptions, so peruse through the photographs of some of our favourites. And imagine them on the tabletops, on the floor in the corner of the living room, flanking a sideboard in the dining room, accenting a bookshelf almost anywhere.

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Faux Leather Gifts and Homeware

This category includes a range of new hand made Chinese Style Gifts and Homeware. This classical style range of collections are made using old traditional Chinese techniques, which was developed 1200-1500 years ago in the Tang Dynasty Era, painted and embossed on Leather wood box. These days the old technique has been used for a wide range of new design items including furniture.

The leather is wrapped around the wood and bound tightly so that the skin is smooth and perfectly formed to the piece. Stylish brass fixtures and handles complete the exterior. Inside the boxes are lined with aged Chinese paper filled with characters, adding to the authenticity and feel of the products.

Front and sides of most of pieces are painted with beautiful and traditional Chinese paintings of golden Butterflies, Birds flying beyond flowers, golden Dragonflies flying beyond lotus, or elegant Peacock etc. In Chinese culture, these all represent luck and happiness. Also, lacquer had put on the paintings for protection.

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Oriental Room Dividers

History of folding screens starts in China, where they appeared in the 14^th century. These sophisticated pieces of furniture were made in wide range of sizes, from extremely large oversized folding screens that were used in spacious palaces, to miniature decorative screens that could comfortably fit on a tabletop or wall hanging.

Folding screens can be used as room dividers which ware constructed from several panels attached to each other. The most popular in VII century China room dividers were six or eight panels folding screens. Chinese masters are famous for their complex ancient lacquer application techniques. Most known technique used in creation of folding screens - "naciju" - is a labor intensive multi layered lacquer application technique with gold leaf inserted into the lacquer on the different levels. Masters applied up to 30 layers of lacquer and each level had a unique gold leaf pattern. As a result - a magically glowing surface of the screen that exudes energy. Another popular unique decorative technique used by Chinese artisans in creation of folding screens is dimensional carving on the clay surface.

Folding screens that are made by using this method are known as Coromandel screens. Each panel of coromandel screens was made from wood and covered with many layers of soft clay followed with multiple layers of lacquer. Then opulent designs with landscapes, flora and fauna motives, and calligraphy writing, were skillfully engraved in a different relief (high and low) into the screens panels, creating a breathtaking three dimensional effect. The Coromandel screens were then painted and embellished with gold or silver leaf. The unique screen making techniques passed from generation to generation and are widely used and popular today.

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History of Chinese Furniture

China is a country with a history of over 5,000 years , the Chinese furniture is of no exception. The models, colours and craft of the carved ancient furniture have their specific oriental and Asian national style.

The Chinese Antique Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (A.D. 1368-1644 and A.D. 1644-1911), the two last dynasties before the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, is made of selected excellent wood, which is based on both popular and imperial use, handed down from the previous dynasties: Tang, Song, Yuan. Nowadays, in villages of China, unique ancient pieces are explored daily from the population, or from museums in different parts of China.

The Chinese antique furniture has two characteristics:

* The work is always executed with the greatest care. The structure is strict and tight; the line is smooth. The splendor and emitted light are realized by deep-carving and hollow carving, and by repeating varnishing, upto 10 times in all.

* The forms and varieties of models cannot be matched by any other country. There are hundreds of variations under each category, different types of Wedding cabinet, Sideboards, Hallway tables, desks, chairs, screens, dressing-tables, barrels and benches. They are not only a piece of furniture; they are precious art works and displays, which are greatly appreciated by modern homes all over the world.

There exist two major styles of traditional Chinese furniture: The lacquered furniture with sculpture and painting of vivid and variable colors, it fulfills a pre-eminently decorative role, and traditional furniture that is much more sober, with a facade of almost unique color. It is frequently used by families in the ancient China.

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Glossary

Apron: A skirt of wood running between the legs of a chair or cabinet.

Cane Inlay: Decorative design, weaving with split rattan or bamboo fiber for seats or beds set into the surface of a piece of furniture.

Embossed: Put Raised design or painting on Leather or wood

Feng Shui: Chinese practice of arranging elements to achieve the greatest harmony and balance

Grain: A pattern that is formed in wood by its fibers.

Hardwood: Timber from any tree that is not a conifer; wood known for its strength and durability.

Horse hoof: Style of table or chair leg that resembles the hoof of a horse of Chinese antique furniture.

Joinery: Constructed with dovetail or other joints instead of nails

Lacquer: red or black coating that imparts a high gloss to surfaces. Asian varnish made from tree gum.

Mount: A decorative fitting attached to furniture (often of metal, ormolu or ceramic).

Plain hardwood: furniture made of woods such as hua li, which are waxed but left un-lacquered

Rail: A horizontal bar running between the legs or uprights of a piece.

Softwood: Timber of coniferous trees; wood that is easy to cut.

Splat: The central upright of a chair back.

Stretcher: The horizontal bar joining and stabilizing the legs of a chair or table. Supports between legs of chairs, tables or benches - shape is straight or Humpback of Chinese antique furniture.

Common Chinese Wood Name

Burl Wood (Ying Mu) :- Found on the root or trunk of any trees, in oval lump shape or twisted knots

Beech Wood (Ju Mu) :- Also called Southern Elm

Chicken Wing Wood (Ji Chi Mu) :- a wood whose deep brown and gray patterns when cut tangentially resemble the patterns of bird

Camphor Wood ( Zhang Mu) :- Odor: Camphor has a very characteristic odor, for which the tree is named. The most recognizable product that contains the extracts of camphor are medicated .

Elm Wood (Yu Mu) :- Ulmus, Northern Elm, is traditionally the most common softwood used in making furniture in North China

Huanghuali (Huang Hua Li ) :- The Chinese term huanghuali literally means "yellow flowering pear" wood. It is a member of the rosewood family and is botanically classified as Dalbergia odorifera

Walnut (He Tao Mu) :- Walnut wood is lumber cut from the trees of the Juglans genus. This wood has been popular in the creation of furniture for its strength, coloring and its ability to be shaped into elaborate curves.

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