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!

Chinese Antique Furniture Maintenance

Wood is a natural living product, therefore, wood furniture will "breathe" in response to changes in the atmosphere. Rapid or extreme fluctuation in temperature, humidity or direct sunlight may cause cracking, splitting, and/or warping of the piece.Wood as a plant contains water in its structure. Throughout our manufacturing process, substantial amount of water would have been eliminated from the wood to make it stable. However, wood still expands or contracts as related to the relative humidity in the air. One exception is wood that has undergone chemical treatment.

The design of Chinese furniture has already catered to this behavior of wood. In particular, a large surface is usually made with floating panel framed by wood members on four sides. The floating panel can expand or contract but still has its surface secure and intact. In an extremely dry environment, the contraction, however, might reveal certain "un-colored" portion of the tongue that is inserted into the wood members. If the furniture is moved to a higher humidity environment, the wood will expand and the "un-colored" portion will be concealed again. This is a normal behavior for Chinese furniture.

The ideal condition for furniture is a stable atmosphere with relative humidity fluctuations of 40 - 70 percent, and a temperature from 60 - 80 degrees Fahrenheit.Operating a humidifier or putting a glass of water inside or underneath the furniture may help to maintain humidity.

Strong sunlight can cause fading or other changes. If you leave objects in a permanent position on the furniture, uneven fading may also occur.Avoid placing furniture next to radiators, hot air vents, air conditioners, or open windows. Do not place hot containers directly onto the surface of the furniture.

Careless handling of the furniture may also cause damage.

Wood is an organic substance, and each species of wood has individual characteristics such as color, texture, and smell। We apply appropriate finishes on each piece with those characteristics in mind, so the finish and the design of the wood enhance one another and work together harmoniously।

Use dry cloth, soft brush or the brush of a vacuum cleaner to remove dust on the furniture. If needed, use a dry or mild damp cloth to wipe away dirt or stains. This is the only cleaning you need for the furniture. Never use too much water to clean the furniture.

There is normally no need to re-wax the furniture very offen . Just wiping with a dry cloth can restore the shimmer. However, if there has been too much stain on the surface, or the furniture has lost its shimmer altogether, re-wax is then needed. Use only a thin layer of soft "paste like" furniture wax. High quality furniture beeswax is easily available in the market. Never use the spray type furniture wax, otherwise you will have to say good-bye to the beautiful furniture color.

For certain finish of our pieces , the paint and color is made very thin to best reveal the wood grains. The furniture surfaces therefore cannot withstand too much scratching. So if objects such as lamps or vases are to be placed on furniture top, it is highly recommended to shield them with soft padding on their bottom surfaces.

Do not use abrasive kitchen cleaners, as they will scratch the surface.
Do not use chemicals or other commercial cleaners on furniture.

Avoiding Fraud when Buying Antique Furnishings

Antique collecting can be hard especially if you do not know the industry. In fact, you can lose a lot of money from dubious transactions and fraudulent bargains. This is why it is important that you first know what you are getting into before you go right in and buy antiques. Knowledge is power and in this case, knowledge may mean your financial health.
Below are some of the ways to prevent getting tricked. Read on and make sure that you follow each advice to ensure that you are getting your moneys worth.
1. Research. You'll never know how much help a little researching can do until you do it. You will find a lot of helpful information when you take time to ask and do a little snooping. This applies to both the people that you deal with and the item that you are purchasing. Ask around and familiarize yourself with the item. Read everything you can about the material and about the era when the antique was supposedly made.
2. Be suspicious. There is nothing wrong with being a little cautious with your purchases and transactions. In fact, in antique collecting, it pays to be a little paranoid and suspicious of people. Remember that they are selling things that are really old and in some cases, things that you have not even heard of because of its age. It's a little hard to prove its authenticity so you are entitled to doubts and suspicions.
3. Follow your instinctsIf something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Remember that bit of information! If your instincts are telling you that something is wrong, drop the transaction. If you are not sure, investigate. Frauds can be caught if you just make the effort.
4. Talk with experts There is nothing in this world that can sharpen your nose for antiques than talking and dealing with people who are experts in the field. Join trade fairs and organizations of antique collectors. Log on to websites that deal with antique collecting and join their forums. There are books out there authored by people who know what they are talking about.
Remember, it may be sheer bad luck to get involved in a fraudulent transaction but it is always your choice. Antique collecting is not some easy forgettable thing that you can just breeze through. It takes research and practice to be good at it.

What must be noted that when the renovation of 100 points

First, water and electricity 1, waterproof construction should adopt the water-proof coating 2, waterproofing should be hidden in the construction and completion of the inspection after 3, waterproof construction to be done after the completion of the 2nd water test 4, waterproof bathroom floor should not be less than 1.8 m 5, floor drain, Kok Yin and Yang, to do more local channels, such as a water-proof 6, leakage to use odor to leak 7, cold and hot water pipes left right cold 8, water pipes from the ground as far as possible not to go 9, cold-water pipe in the wall 1CM have a protective coating, hot water pipe is 1.5CM, therefore, open to a deep trough 10, PPR pipe was installed to consider the thickness of the ceramic tiles affixed to a good, so Guanzi will not be exposed 11, cook a few minutes, to vegetables for a long time to buy some big Pelton 12, and leading to matching basin, pretend not to fix up the 13, the toilet can not be used to install cement, to use silica gel 14, toilet, installed after the leader should pay attention to the protection of 15, to consider when buying toilet toilet from the pit 16, to consider the washing machine is on or under the water drainage 17, the bathroom is best not to telephone, easy to damp 18, the bathroom mirror must first consider the good size, or mirror headlights easily mounted on a high 19, the best bathroom pipes to stay manholes 20, the strong weak power can not wear a pipe at the same 21, left zero, right on the ground with 22, to 300 from the power outlet, switch 1.4 m 23, do not switch mounted on the back door 24, the outlet should be a lot of good 25, 16A with high-power electrical sockets, such as electric ovens, etc. 26, cassette good use 27, cassette and the panel must be coordinated, or else they might not installed on 28, PVC pipe cable wire cross-section area of no more than wire tube cross-section area of 40% 29, not air-conditioned bedroom on the implantation 30, to consider air-conditioning hole tilted outward, or else the rain will come in 31, Light far as possible to consider dual control 32, the best installation Bathroom splash outlet 33, to consider a balcony outlet 34, groove to horizontal wire-vertical, as well row, after using up to facilitate 35, utilities mounted to the flue valve Zhini 36, bought electrical appliances must allow workers to see a good statement 37, manual and warranty card information must remain good Second, Nigong 38, the cement factory over a period of three months can not be used 39 different species, grade cement can not be mixed 40, yellow sand must use river sand, mouth taste will know 41, tile water to more than two hours, before dried paste 42, the tile would rather buy a few films, do not buy less, or prone to chromatic aberration 43, the wall can not have two rows of the entire non-brick 44, wiping immediately after the completion of the seam on the tile to carry out clean-up 45, affixed to the marble floor (light), the stone on the back of waterproofing to be done 46, Yang corner to cut 45-degree angle 47, floor tiles to the floor drain tilt Department, or vulnerable to water 48, the pipe wall across the mouth used to cut package in the form of this appears to block or brick 49, the ground should be dry marble shop 50, floor tiles must Naizang, non-slip, not just to look good 51, matt tiles difficult to clean up 52, the balcony floor tiles should pay attention to the direction of drainage Third, carpentry 53, the keel to the best use of drying larch 54, the wooden plate will be bought later saw air-dry 55, the first shell house carpentry approach the horizon 56, the color panel to come in to buy a paint brush again, was to prevent dirty 57, ceiling fans can not be mounted on the ceiling keel 58, the construction of the color panel to pre-select color 59, tendons hanging from the ceiling of the wall not to be more than 300 60, gypsum board used since the first attack, Shen screws into the plate surface 1 ~ 2MM, and to do to deal with rust-proof and can not nail gun 61, the plasterboard nails shall not be greater than the distance between 200 62, with gypsum board walls have cracks 3MM for dealing with crack 63, gypsum board corner Yang Yang to do the best protection angle Article 64, up and down the wooden doors of the emerging Department to paint brush 65, Mentao toilet brush to look at the bottom of the water 66, the size of the door should be consistent 67, wood furniture, try not to do so, can be done to do the 68, as far as possible to buy the whole of the cabinet, woodworking done, we can not design 69, in a certain size to be considered, up to more trouble 70, their doors will not move to do so dark track, not after maintenance 71, a small bathroom, then moved to do as much as possible the door, do not open the door, or local 72, not sure of the wood must live with the foreman and more exchanges should not be given a free hand so that they 73, in the hands of the money is the last word 74, with children at home, using less glass 75, must let the workers make good look at drawings 76, useful in the kitchen drawer 77, the keel wood floor flatness is 5MM 78, the gross floor paved to 30 degrees or 45 degrees between the board and the board to stay 2 ~ 3MM, to stagger the joints 79, on the floor between the wall and had to stay 8 ~ 10MM cracks 80, the composite floor over the length of time to consider the expansion joints 8M 81, to minimize the use of MDF do Mentao 82, hinges and hardware must be good 83, Yuba to be mounted on wood keel, can not be directly mounted on the ceiling Fourth, painter 84, medium-dark latex paint as much as possible during the construction of Water not otherwise prone to chromatic aberration 85, the plasterboard seams to be a bandage on 86, the gap where the walls are really cool to be on the cloth is better 87, some of the original wall putty for the Eradication of the best, or glue brush again Fenggu 88, as far as possible to buy well-known brand of paint, decoration or recommended by the company recommended by the foreman did not use well-known ones as far as possible 89, the weather is too humid, not to paint brush 90, painting, grinding the paint to dry completely, and so on after 91, a paint under construction, and so on must be a former paint dry after 92, the metal surface of the painting to be done to deal with rust 93, the weather is too cold, the paint will be poor construction quality 94, paint the door when the United States to use paper patterns posted stay hinges and locks 95, hot days, it is necessary to pay attention to ventilation 96, wallpaper paste, to brush the wall Qingyou 97, wallpaper paste, we should switch, the panel outlet to unload 98, light, latex paint Mercerized to the completion of the first, prone to make up the difference 99, skirting board installed after the putty to use latex paint and sewing up like 100, use frosted glass to protect newspapers

Buy, Home is the key - a new definition of home

Home to save money, and yet beautiful, yet grade, then follow the words: light decoration, re-decoration.
A lot of decoration company's designers say that some of the house just after the renovation finished good, but the owners into a living, furniture Yi Bai, on a different; the house and some of the decoration is very general, but placed after the End home furnishings And the results are unexpectedly good. Why have two opposite result? This room with the "soft decoration". At present, industry experts have reached a consensus: the family the most important thing is fitting to reflect the characteristics of the family and unfit for human habitation; no need to be a large number of high-grade materials and a pile of not and need not parroting; the key is in the decoration on the way to new furniture in the configuration , The selection of accessories, but also efforts.
One example is the image that if the house turned out all that all things are falling referred to as soft decoration. In 2000, after the beginning of popular soft decoration, as time goes by, more and more people are concerned about the soft start equipment, accessories concern, a number of decorative extension of the company separate from the Department of accessories. Why so soft assembly decorated with the rapid epidemic?
1, in today's increasingly fine division of labor, gradually increasing the quality of life, as far as 81% of respondents who pointed out that the renovation can not preserve and increase the room, only with the passage of time devaluation of the out-dated, out, watch a few decades ago, Go decoration can only reduce their quality of living and quality of life; more than 70% of respondents indicated that they would step up its own room decorated inputs; of which 74% of respondents believe that room decorated to reflect the individual style, Grade; 55% of respondents said that small and medium-sized room and decorative items can be placed to create a home atmosphere.
2, "decorative" Investment will be increased gradually. Experts: Home home furnishings will be an important part of the design of the entire content of more than 1 / 3; survey shows: more people will be prepared to save the cost, to allow for the purchase of a home personality and taste of Decorations.
3, the public's rising level of consumption, induced by the direct people's life in pursuit of a higher level;
4, fashion, quality, personality, a person's home life is increasingly becoming an indispensable important theme;
5, a "soft decoration," cheap, less time-consuming, you can own the design and layout, very fast-paced life of the younger generation of love, but also is becoming a new lifestyle.