How to choose antique furniture

Foreigners like antique furniture, like a novel, and the Chinese people love antique furniture, like it is behind the heavy furniture, the history and culture of the same strain. Antique furniture generally refers to the value with a collection of old furniture, mainly referring to the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty inter-produced furniture, this period of traditional Chinese furniture production is the pinnacle of the era. During this period the birth of the furniture, already has a heritage value, and because of scarcity of raw materials, from the civil to the old furniture to buy less and less, one less thing to sell, so the old furniture is not only up down. Than a result of furniture or handicraft ceramic, it is from the inscribed date, material, or sites of origin information can be set off to do analysis. Identify an antique furniture, furniture, often from the material, design, craft, integrity, rarity, and many other aspects of study to determine, by merely one factor to independently judge whether it was the Ming and Qing dynasty furniture furniture is unscientific. One look material. The history of different periods and regions, as a result of political, economic and lifestyle, aesthetic taste and objective location, be able person factors such as the ease of different, often using different wood furniture production. Ming and Qing furniture in the timber has a distinct characteristics of the times. Timber used in Ming and Qing furniture, it has universal application of the chicken wing wood, ebony, Mesua ferrea, pear, red sandalwood and other high-quality timber. Among them, the use of pear in the Ming-style furniture to be the most common. Handed down today to see huanghuali furniture, the Ming-style furniture a majority. Rosewood was classified as the most valuable timber, from the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty has been used in the early stage of later, around the Rosewood have been deforested, red sandalwood seedlings also hard to become useful, it is not possible then the production of red sandalwood furniture of wood. Therefore, the main popular Rosewood Furniture Ming and . After the mid-Qing Dynasty, due to high-quality source of the increasing scarcity of wood, a Southeast Asia regional imports from the new varieties - Redwood begun to emerge. Rosewood furniture in China, the ancient timber appeared in the latest, from the furniture handed down, as well as archival records, the Qianlong ago is absolutely impossible to have mahogany furniture (Guangzhou office furniture), Redwood is in the red sandalwood, rosewood basically sold out after, as alternatives emerged. Mahogany furniture, mass production, approximately in the Qing dynasty, the rise of national capitalism, commercial prosperity, the entry of Western culture, so that rosewood furniture as a fashion, by the kings and nobles, dignitaries, rich families of all ages. The production of mahogany furniture from the late Qing Dynasty until today and become a model of the Qing Dynasty furniture. However, there is one, handed down from a large number of beech, elm, nanmu, boxwood furniture, it is widely used in the Ming and Qing dynasties were the material. Second look modeling. Generally speaking, the Ming-style furniture to fine but not , simple and not vulgar, not stagnate solid good, it unique aesthetic personality and distinctive art forms is also reflected in the decoration patterns on. Ming-style furniture, decoration material, such as pine, bamboo, plum, orchid, pomegranates, Ganoderma lucidum, lotus and other plant material; rocks, water, , pavilion see more topics, such as scenery, and a large number of auspicious meaning with the use of the Motif , such as FANG Sheng, plates long, of thousands of words, wishful, cloud head, Turtle Cove, colt, a series of such patterns. Compared with the Qing Dynasty furniture, Ming furniture ornamentation meaning most subjects compared quite "Mingyue Qingquan", "Spring Snow", like the charm Gao Wen Ru, but also an increase of Ming-style furniture and elegant temperament. Qing-style furniture with carved painted gorgeous gorgeous eyeful good, the decoration pattern accordingly embodies this aesthetic style. Three watch technology. Qing-style furniture can be described as "icing on the cake." Ming-style furniture with attention to "build the United States," compared to the Qing Dynasty artisans to focus more on man-made "beauty工巧" instead of great importance to the natural texture of materials, so in the Qing Dynasty furniture rarely seen the kind of large for Su, do not matter the case of decoration. Fourth, the integrity of look. Pure antique furniture, at least 80% more than the integrity can be known as the antique; if repair exceeds 20%, it is necessary to be regarded as the antique. Commonly known as "the original head" of the Ming and Qing furniture, high values, although there has some damage, such as tables and chairs of , cabinet wood, such as copper, but as long as the structure is damaged, parts are not lost, can recover by repairing furniture not lost value. However, if a furniture 1 / 2 after the above parts are assigned, then the value of these pieces of furniture on the greatly reduced. In addition, through the nose sniffing is a way to distinguish the old furniture. Imitation of new furniture has the pungent, and old furniture is not only a stuffy room in the old residential flavor of Chan, or faint musty. If it is high-quality timber, but also exudes a unique fragrance. Five rare look. Rare species are generally more valuable, such as large-size case and the position of painting handed down the volume of very few naturally very valuable. There is also a furniture is the same species have markedly different products, such as the Ming Dynasty mandarin the same chair, there has been a different shape other mandarin chairs but also the exquisite workmanship, it is kind of different goods, while precious. Antique furniture identification, if the fragmented aspects of the above, where one aspect alone to identify may be being unfair.

Married families buy three kinds of furniture may not be

Each person has a different understanding of family, how to use limited funds renovation of the most perfect home? In home renovations, many property owners concerned about is the renovation costs. Therefore, in the decoration ago, must be planned, only good planning can reduce the cost. Here, life home specifically for you the most comprehensive warm this winter decoration information and make it the most beautiful dress you love at home!

With the arrival of the peak period of the marriage, furniture market, once again heating up, a wide range of innovative furniture be dizzying, but many people buy furniture is not satisfactory, some of the furniture looks nice, but the material is full of harmful substances, There's a good time to buy furniture, but do not buy back a long time on the bulk of the plane, what should we do to buy furniture? What kind of furniture that should not buy it? The following three kinds of furniture is best not to buy.

The first one is the relatively low price,chaffer not particularly easy to buy.

Let us not refer to other,chaffer so easy, certainly thought about it there are problems, some extremely low prices of furniture, sometimes even chaffer under the chaffer thousand dollars, in fact, most of this furniture is to use a large number of times the lowest-quality of materials is often fair without, foul within, consumers of such seemingly tens of millions of cheap to be careful.

The second is to stimulate a strong odor should not buy furniture.

Some of the furniture such as cabinets and so on, to buy time to open a drawer, open the doors odor may stimulate people to tears, this situation shows that the formaldehyde content of this furniture seriously overweight. This furniture great harm to the body generally not recommended to buy. If the conditions to buy such furniture, the best home for some time and then dry.

The third should be noted that wood-based panel made furniture done all the Edge of the deal do not buy.

Those who use wood-based panel furniture components made of the restrictions on the Edge deal with very strict, especially for furniture particleboard should require all of Edge, so that man-made board can restrict the release of hazardous substances, but many manufacturers in order to save materials, are Edge only partial, so best not to buy furniture.

Married families buy three kinds of furniture may not be

Each person has a different understanding of family, how to use limited funds renovation of the most perfect home? In home renovations, many property owners concerned about is the renovation costs. Therefore, in the decoration ago, must be planned, only good planning can reduce the cost. Here, life home specifically for you the most comprehensive warm this winter decoration information and make it the most beautiful dress you love at home!

With the arrival of the peak period of the marriage, furniture market, once again heating up, a wide range of innovative furniture be dizzying, but many people buy furniture is not satisfactory, some of the furniture looks nice, but the material is full of harmful substances, There's a good time to buy furniture, but do not buy back a long time on the bulk of the plane, what should we do to buy furniture? What kind of furniture that should not buy it? The following three kinds of furniture is best not to buy.

The first one is the relatively low price,chaffer not particularly easy to buy.

Let us not refer to other,chaffer so easy, certainly thought about it there are problems, some extremely low prices of furniture, sometimes even chaffer under the chaffer thousand dollars, in fact, most of this furniture is to use a large number of times the lowest-quality of materials is often fair without, foul within, consumers of such seemingly tens of millions of cheap to be careful.

The second is to stimulate a strong odor should not buy furniture.

Some of the furniture such as cabinets and so on, to buy time to open a drawer, open the doors odor may stimulate people to tears, this situation shows that the formaldehyde content of this furniture seriously overweight. This furniture great harm to the body generally not recommended to buy. If the conditions to buy such furniture, the best home for some time and then dry.

The third should be noted that wood-based panel made furniture done all the Edge of the deal do not buy.

Those who use wood-based panel furniture components made of the restrictions on the Edge deal with very strict, especially for furniture particleboard should require all of Edge, so that man-made board can restrict the release of hazardous substances, but many manufacturers in order to save materials, are Edge only partial, so best not to buy furniture.

Chinese Antique Furniture Style

The development of traditional Chinese furniture went from the simple to the intricate, and was closely linked to the Chinese lifestyle and cultural and economic changes in China. In early antiquity, the Chinese sat mostly on straw mats on the floor. After the Warring States period, beds and couches began to come into widespread use as seating. During the Wei-Chin and the Northern and Southern dynasties period, Western-style chairs, folding stools, and other seating gradually entered China. From this point on, Chinese everyday living began to be conducted from chairs rather than sitting cross-legged on the floor. Straw mats came to be used as coverings for beds and couches. 

Beginning in the late Ching Dynasty, foreign living styles began to be adopted in China, with the result that originally predominant Chinese-style furnishings gradually became collector's items. Not only chairs, but also Chinese tables, cabinets, bookcases, and decorative screens reached the summit of their development during the Ming and Ch'ing dynasties. 

Ming furniture features simple, smooth, and flowing lines, and plain and elegant ornamentation, fully bringing out the special qualities of frame-structure furniture. Influenced by China's burgeoning foreign trade and advanced craftsmanship techniques, furniture of the Ch'ing Dynasty period turned to rich and intricate ornamentation, along with coordinated engraved designs. Because of the high level of development of Chinese furniture in the Ming and Ch'ing dynasties, most Chinese furniture design today follows in the tradition of pieces from these two periods.

As in traditional Chinese architecture, wood is the major material used in the manufacture of furniture. This was in response both to needs arising from Chinese lifestyles, and to China's rich forest resources. The two main types are lacquered furniture and hardwood furniture. Lacquered furniture was commonly used in palaces, temples, and in the homes of the wealthy. It includes the t'i-hung , or carved lacquer style; t'ien-ch'i  in which lacquer is used to fill in an engraved design, then rubbed flat; miao-ch'i , or outlined lacquer style; and luo-tien , or furniture inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Two or more methods might also be combined in the same piece. Hardwood furniture was frequently found in the homes of the wealthy, but was even more common in the homes of nobles and officials. Woods employed include red sandalwood, pearwood, padauk, ebony, and nanmu. Of these, red sandalwood is the most highly valued material for use in furniture making; it is dense, hard, and resistant to decay. 

Bamboo and rattan furniture also have a long history. Bamboo is a product unique to Asia, and is an especially developed industry in hot and sunny Taiwan. Simple and ingenious techniques are used to make clever and useful products that can be ``knocked down,'' and modular pieces that can be used together or separately. Bamboo may be used in combination with other materials, such as wood, rattan, metal, and ceramic tile, in endless variation. Much bamboo and rattan furniture is exported to Europe and the United States, where it enjoys great popularity. 

 

Chinese are fond of furniture with inlaid and carved work. In addition to shells and enamel chips, brilliant, colorful, and artistically grained jade, stones, ivory (and other animal teeth), horn, agate, and amber are used for inlaid desi gns. Marble, for example, is a stone often used for inlaid work; colorful ceramic plates are also a popular material for ornamentation. Another elegant technique used since ancient times is the inlaying of different kinds and colors of woods in a single piece. The methods of carving include relief carving, negative engraving, and free-style carving. Common subjects for furniture carving are flowers; dragons and phoenixes; the ch'i-lin, a Chinese mythical beast; and stylized cloud and leaf patterns. 

Traditional Chinese furniture is generally arranged in symmetrical suites or sets. These are, however, supplemented with other more flexible arrangements to prevent the room from having too staid an atmosphere. For example, paintings or examples of calligraphy might be hung on the wall; ceramic, enamel or other knick-knacks might be placed in an antique display cabinet; or flower arrangements made of jade or stone might top a square occasional table. Any or all of these can add splashes of color and elegant form to the room. These delicate additions set off the heavy furniture to give a rich composite effect

General Info for Chinese Antique Furniture

The early history of Chinese furniture recorded in excavated material, engraved stone and stamped brick reveals a mat-level furniture culture. The ancient Chinese knelt or sat cross-legged upon woven mats surrounded by various furnishings including low tables, screens, and armrests. Examples of excavated lacquer furniture from the ancient kingdom of Chu (ca. 500 BC) demonstrate an aesthetic of minimalism and simplicity, and others are decorated with unique colorful patterns and bear finely carved decoration in relief and openwork. The blending of artistic form with practical functionality can be seen as a common thread running throughout the long history of Chinese furniture.

Developments toward high seating were influenced by foreign customs and the migration of Buddhism. During the second century AD, the Han emperor Lingdi was recorded to have had a fascination with things foreign, including the foreign or "barbarian" seat (huchuang). This term referred to the folding stool, which at that time was commonly used by nomadic tribes in the more remote northern and western regions where it was also used for mounting horses. Being easily carried over the shoulder, it quickly became a popular seat for traveling or hunting.

Low platforms were another early form of raised seating furniture which were used as honorific seats by high officials and religious dignitaries during ceremonial and sacrificial rites. Records from the Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) indicate that these sitting platforms were called ta; the relatively longer chuang was used both for sitting and reclining.

With the eastward migration of Buddhism from India, chairs and raised platforms began to appear with more frequency as the status enhancing seats of great masters, along with the custom of disciples gathered around seated upon stools. Hourglass-shaped stools made of straw and basketwork also begin to appear during the Northern and Southern Dynasties (386-586 AD) period; similarly shaped stools of rattan are still found throughout modern China.

During the transitional period--from mat to chair--kneeling and cross-legged positions upon the seating platforms was common. Additionally, the raised platform also began to function as a large, medium-height table for dining.

By the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD), stools and chairs had become common amongst the elite and those of rank. Prototypes to the yoke back chair as well as the round back chair appear in contemporary paintings and wall murals which depict the sitter with legs both pendant and crossed.

By the Northern and Southern Song (960-1279) periods, many types of high furniture had developed and were commonly used throughout all circles of life. Scenes recorded within contemporary paintings as well as archeological finds reveal that tables, chairs, stools, and benches of the architecturally related recessed-leg style were widely used.

Waisted cornerleg furniture is also evidenced in Song paintings, although, this more elegant form, with roots tracing back through Gandhara to early Greek architecture, appears to have been reserved for the elite and for activities of ritualistic and ceremonial significance.

Chinese Furniture

A Renaissance Of the various art forms to evolve in china, among them porcelain, lacquer and calligraphy furniture craft was perhaps the least appreciated and the last to be collected.

Now ,carpenters ,unsung heroes who once toiled anonymously in workshops ,are venerated as true artisans whose masterpieces are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars .during the Ming and Qing dynasties ,these talented craftsmen elevated furniture from the realm of functional to the realm of philosophical .by artfully incorporating wood grain patterns ,experimenting with spatial dimensions ,simple and pure tables and chairs came to represent something higher :the harmony and union between man and nature .

The best furniture on the market is animated .enthusiasts look for dynamism and movement in the gentle curves and sweeps of the spandrels, aprons, braces and feet .analogies range from lotus flowers to elephant trunks.

The appreciation of Chinese furniture on an international scale began in the 1930s when a group of American and European scholars living in Beijing and shanghai started collecting fine antiques .before the communists seized power in 1949 ,much of the furniture owned by these scholars was spirited out of the country and into the us where they would later form the basis of major muse-um collections in Kansas city ,Philadelphia and new York .for decades ,as red china remained closed ,it was commonly believed that these museum artifacts were all that remained of Ming and early Qing dynasty furniture .they were considered the remnants of a lost culture that elevated carpentry to a high art .this assumption was ,of course ,wrong .in the backwaters of china ,in isolated provinces such as Anhui and Shanxi ,spectacular examples were gathering dust .while the country endured paroxysms of social change ,scholars like Wang Shixiang were quietly scouring the Beijing markets in search of classical furniture .during the communist revolution ,he unearthed dozens of examples ,disassembled them with the help of Beijing craftsmen ,and compiled notes of his findings .it was a labor of love that was almost derailed during the cultural revolution (1966-76)when symbols of supposedly bourgeois conceit were confiscated and destroyed .

Once coveted, Ming and Qing furniture became a symbol of loathing. During the Cultural Revolution, when chaos ruled and aesthetic beauty was derided, thousands of exquisite pieces were thrown into piles on the streets and burned or shipped in pieces to collection warehouses. The oral tradition of Chinese carpentry was threatening classical furniture from the Ming and Qing dynasties with extinction. Even during these darkest hours, however, pieces survived. Some were simply too far removed in the countryside to be directly affected by the tumult. Others survived because they were rescued by academics or conscientious Red Guards who ignored destruction orders and hoarded choice pieces in their homes after they were dumped into warehouses. After the Cultural Revolution, there was some attempt at restitution. There was some attempt at restitution. Wang Shi xiang’s stash was eventually returned to him and his collection donated to the Shanghai Museum after it was purchased by Quincy Chuang in Hong Kong. Much of the furniture stored in the warehouses, however, was simply sold off.

By the mid -1980s, as China’s new economic policy kicked into gear, antique furniture began flooding out of China and inevitably surfaced around Hong Kong’s famous “cat street .” dealers and collectors who recognized their worth snapped them up, including published collectors like peter Fung, Robert Mimi Hung and Dr Shing Yiu Yip. While most transactions occurred privately, the growing popularity of Chinese furniture became patently obvious when a 1996 auction at Christie’s Hong Kong netted an individual collection of Chinese art in a decade. The benchmark for individual items has been repeatedly surpassed.

The trend will probably continue as China’s new rich rediscover their past. China’s emerging art aficionados, such as Zhao ping, a Beijing entrepreneur, are part of new wave rekindling the Chinese passion for collecting art. He says, “I believe collecting can help me learn about Chinese history”----something he did not have time to appreciate in school when he was studying electronics. A new Cultural Revolution is transforming the market. Antique Chinese furniture is entering a period of renaissance.

Yes, You CAN Choose The Perfect Sofa!

Did you guess the answer -- it is the same for all the questions. The answer? The humble sofa! Did you get it right? That little quiz highlights the critical importance of a sofa as a home furnishing. For yourself, your family and your guests, you need a good sofa.

This means that when it comes time to buying a new sofa, you must make your choice carefully and thoughtfully. A sofa can make or break your home decorating efforts.

As no two homes (or homeowners) are the same, there is no type of sofa that is 'right' for everyone, only the type that best meets YOUR needs. You can evaluate sofas from the designers perspective: writing a press release they look - their appearance. But you can also judge and categorize sofas based on functional criteria: their components and how they work.

As far as functional criteria are concerned, you can choose sofas that are sectional - you can move individual pieces of the set in a mix-and-match fashion. You can also buy recliner press release template sleeper sofas (that open out into a bed) - even outdoor sofas, that can handle all types of weather. I advise folks to consider the functional criteria first - What will you need your sofa for? Where will it be used? How often will it be used? How much space is available? Once you know what TYPE of sofa you need, then you can consider design options.

As far as design (appearance) is concerned, your choices are almost endless. You can choose sofas with a traditional feel - literally, using thick, pillow-like fabrics, with deep, restful cushions that you write a press release just get happily lost in (I guess you know which ones I like for napping!). Or you can go with a more contemporary type - crisp lines, taut fabrics, simple color schemes.

A couple of recommendations: Always match your sofa style to your overall room style. If your room decor is contemporary, make sure your sofa is as well. If your room is decorated in a traditional flavor, then choose a sofa for it that keeps to that same design scheme. Clashing styles hurt my eyes!