Furniture
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General Information:
Ancient Chinese furniture has a fine reputation in modern China and the West alike. Chinese ancient furniture features profound cultural facts and superb craftsmanship. The furniture, mostly made from precious wood in the Ming (1360's - 1640's) and Qing (1610's - 1910's) dynasties is widely recognized as the best. Before the Ming Dynasty, furniture did not survive wars and time. Traditional craftsmanship did not reach its zenith until the Ming Dynasty. It was then that it reached a high level of aesthetic success and could even claim a place in the history of world furniture.
Chinese furniture was usually lacquered red or black and then painted and often carved and sometimes inlaid with other materials such as precious stones, etc. Ming Dynasty funiture is known for its simplicity with sparse lines and little decoration while Qing furniture emphasizes detail and extravagance. Furniture from southern China tends to be very elaborate whereas northern furniture is big, heavy and grand.
History of Chinese Furniture:
As in most other Asian cultures, the custom in ancient Chinese homes was to kneel or sit cross-legged on floor level mats. Furnishings were restricted to low level tables, armrests and decorative screens, with simplicity and minimalism the overriding themes. Some time during the Tang dynasty (610's - 900's AD), higher seats first started to appear amongst the Chinese elite and their usage soon spread to all levels of society. Evidence as to why this move to higher seating took place is scarce, although the elevated status associated with being raised off the floor is likely to have been a major factor. With the higher level of seating came other types of furniture, including benches, long rectangular tables and folding screens.
By the 12th century seating on the floor was rare in China, unlike in other Asian countries where the custom continued, and the chair (or more commonly the stool) was used in the vast majority of houses throughout the country. Over the next few centuries furniture design and construction continued to be refined, leading up to the late Ming period (1360's - 1640's), which is considered by most to be the golden age of Chinese furniture. By this time China had become extremely prosperous, particularly its coastal cities, and demand for luxury items including fine furniture had grown.
The furniture of this time displayed simple, elegant lines, beautiful curves and superb craftsmanship. The quality and accuracy of joinery was so precise that nails and glue were used only as supplements. Metalwork such as handles, hinges and lock plates were designed to complement the graceful lines of each piece. These were no longer simply functional items of furniture but had become objects of beauty, and their timeless simplicity means that they still grace even the most modern home.
Many of the designs that first appeared during this period remained unchanged, in some cases for hundreds of years. Drawings on paper were rare. Instead verbal descriptions of 'types' of furniture were passed down from generation to generation, along with the skills and craftsmanship to continue the tradition. In many ways the artisans that produced the beautiful pieces of this time were far more advanced than their European counterparts. One simple example of their technical superiority is the appearance early on in China of the curved backrest, designed to both please the eye and to increase a chair's comfort. This same feature did not appear in European furniture making until centuries later.
The majority of Ming furniture was made of timber from indigenous trees such as pine, elm and zelkova - known as 'southern elm'. However, the lifting of a ban on imports in 1567 and the subsequent increase in maritime trade also saw the use of tropical hardwoods, mostly imported from South East Asia. These included the dense, precious hardwoods Zitan and Huang-Huali.
Although few examples of the originals remain today, a wide range of finishes were used for furniture of the Ming period. These included heavy carved lacquer, sometimes inlaid with mother of pearl or agate; plainer red or black lacquer; and a more natural finish, allowing the grain to stand out and the beauty of the wood to be the main focus of the piece. Contrary to the image often held in Western minds of opulent painted and lacquered items, evidence suggests that the elite scholars and officials of the time preferred a more refined and restrained finish.
Furniture produced during the early Qing period (1640's - 1910's) was similar to Ming and continued to display classic, simple lines. However a change in style gradually appeared, and by the end of the 18th century the purity of Ming furniture had been replaced by angular forms and beautifully ornate carvings.
The designs that came out of China during the Ming and Qing Dynasty were much admired by the Europeans and have had a major influence on Western interior design. The timeless simplicity and perfect proportions of Chinese furniture allow these pieces to grace even the most modern home. We hope that you will find something to delight you amongst our carefully hand chosen inventory.
Ming Dynasty Furniture:
Ming furniture is simple with sparse lines and little decoration. It usually features fine and durable precious woods, such as mahogany, sandalwood, rose wood etc. In the Ming Dynasty, the demand for fine furniture, the ample supply of wood and the highly developed tenon-mortise technology all facilitated the success of the Ming furniture. Craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty used the succinct language of art to express their inner feelings, and combined ingeniously with the beauty of simplicity and quietness. So the Ming furniture usually has simple structures, unique shapes and minimal decorations which would reserve the natural beauty of the wood. Lines were ingeniously applied to emphasize details such as the back of an armchair and the legs and resting bars of chairs and tables. Emphasis was placed on the application of the natural beauty of the wood texture and adopting latticework and openwork carvings. There would be simple patterns by relief engraving or openwork carving in eye-striking places such as the backs of armchairs.
Qing Dynasty Furniture:
In the early Qing Dynasty, furniture inherited characteristics of the Ming Dynasty, from the reign of Emperor Yongzheng to Emperor Jiaqing. After political power was stabilized and the economy improved, people began to pay more attention to more material things in there lives, and demanded decorative and luxurious furnishings. Gaudiness and sumptuousness were a basic features of Qing furniture which was usually heavy and sizable, featuring exquisitely carved patterns. Some pieces were carved from head to foot and had inlays of stone, mother-of-pearl, porcelain, metal, and enamel. Qing furniture had curved decorations and exaggerated shapes that demanded attention. Chinese traditional furniture has a strong aesthetic appeal due to its apparently simple lines and the fact that it makes use of "natural materials" such as the finest hardwoods. Ready comparisons can be made to Danish furniture, with its sparse lines. With Chinese Antique furniture, you get what you see. Nothing is hidden, and the wood is polished, stained or lacquered to evoke its natural earthiness and grainy patterns. Qing and Ming furniture is characterized by restrained and elegant designs and complex joinery that holds the furniture together without glue or nails. Chinese furniture uses several different types of wood that are only known by their characteristics. Some types of wood have several Chinese names. The same Chinese names can be applied to several types of wood. The two most valued types of wood are Huang Huali and Zitan. Huali is a tropical hardwood that used to grow in China, and comes in a wide range of colors. In its lighter variations, it is called Huang (yellow) Huali, and in its darker manifestations, Lao (old) Huali. Zitan, with its purplish brown color, can be considered the most precious type of timber, and its expense and rarity are related to the fact that it was imported. More common timber types are oak, elm, maple, chestnut, poplar, birch, Hong Mu and Nan Mu.
