The specialists guide to Chinese antiques.

While trolling around on the net, I came across this very nice blog post from Posh Living which does a wonderful job of explaining what chinoiserie is which is.  A main staple amoung designers, chinoiserie design elements in a room are timeless and sophisticated.  Since we have talked in the past about how chinoiserie screens are made, their post is a nice addition providing some historical background and is well worth the read.

“What most people don’t realize about Chinoiserie is that the style doesn’t come from China at all. As trade spread around the globe and Europe’s economy matured, more people could afford decorative goods. To keep up with demand for more ornate works, artisans created designs that were pure fantasy. Reading descriptions of Chinese scenes, European designers created their own versions. Often they are whimsical and even silly, and that makes them even more appealing.

Why Chinoiserie at all? Europeans’ fascination with the Far East began in Marco Polo’s day, in the thirteenth century. At a time when few people traveled the world, exotic goods such as silk fabrics, carpets and porcelain reached Europe via a trading route known as the Silk Road, which carried goods by cart and camel across the entire continent of Asia.

For wealthy Europeans, owning artifacts from the Far East was a status symbol. With these artifacts came stories from the traders of the amazing temples and pagodas they had seen and the strange costumes and appearance of the Oriental people. Cultures from Persia all the way to China were called “Oriental” by the Europeans. They made little effort to distinguish one people from another, and the fanciful designs of Chinoiserie often blend Chinese, Japanese and Persian or Indian elements.”

Have a read of the full post here to learn more:

http://poshsurfside.com/what-is-chinoiserie

and when finished, the wikipedia page on chinoiserie provides some additional background:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinoiserie

Related Books:

Chinoiserie

Islamic Chinoiserie: The Art of Mongol Iran (Edinburgh Studies in Islamic Art)

During a recent buying excursion, I stumbled across these beautiful lacquered / painted armoires, from Shanxi province in Northern China.  While not nearly as prized by Chinese buyers, who often prefer hardwoods like Hua li or Hong mu, the status of Shanxi painted furniture has nevertheless risen significantly over the years for its beauty and stunning colors and is a favorite of the noted Chinese collector Co La Ma.

Particularly interesting, is this close-up section of a door panel. Notice the change in color and patina which has occurred over the years? Once covered by a brass plate which was removed/lost within the last twenty or thirty years, (possibly during the great leap forward), the left side (where the colors are beautiful and subtle) has survived the years, protected by the brass or iron plate that would have originally been there. The colors on the right are faded and muted by comparison. The effect of daily life, pollution, coal dust and years of rough handling and exposure to the elements is clearly visible.

And yet, it remains beautiful. Known as “Bu Wen Qi” or “Da Qi,” the process used in this style of Chinese lacquering is both complex and unique. The first step would have involved covering the raw wood construction with a base layer of hemp, horsehair, straw or other fabric depending on the period in which it was made.  This allows for the wood frame construction to shift to some degree without damaging the rigid upper layer of hardened lacquer.  On older pieces this sometimes still visible in damaged areas and can be a good indicator of age.

The second step is the application of an even layer of gesso known as “ni zi, ” consisting of plaster mixed with pigs blood (which must be applied within a set period of time lest it spoil). This provides the base material and smooths any impurities or flaws in the wood, straw or fabric below. The third step is multiple coats of natural resin based lacquer, with vibrant red or “ink black” being the two most commonly used colors. Each coat of lacquer must be dried, and carefully wet sanded by hand with a very fine abrasive paper before receiving the next coat. The process is then repeated several times with even the most common pieces receiving at least five to seven coats, until the surface becomes smooth, glassy and mirror like. Finally in the forth step, an artist carefully hand paints motifs ranging from flowers and vases to city scenes to people.

Restoration of such pieces requires a extremely skilled craftsman in order to avoid further damage to the piece and to restore it to its former beauty.

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Related Books:

Lacquer box

Classic Chinese Furniture: Ming and Early Qing Dynasties

When a Chinese traditional homes is demolished  to make way for the new, elements like antique window screens, carved panels & screens and other architectural elements are typically salvaged to be reborn as decorative items in modern homes. Thinking about adding such a piece of history to your collection?  Here’s a quick look at the restoration process  from start to finish.

Before and after cleaning

1. Cleaning

A years of being exposed to rain, dust, smoke (and who knows what else), quite a lot of build up can occur, which must be carefully removed. While there are several methods used in cleaning, initial stages typically use water.  Depending on preferences, this process may be repeated several times, often using a small quantity of a gentle cleaner like hand soap or a touch of dish washing liquid.

Removing years of dirt

In Chinese, this process is often referred to as piāo bái   (漂白) which means “to lighten,” and details may emerge that were not evident under all the years of dirt.

Beautiful color emerges

2. Repairs to carvings

After cleaning, the second step is repairing some (or all depending on preference) damaged sections of the wood carving. Typically this involves scraps of the same or similar wood which are then pegged and glued over the damaged areas (known as bu mutou 补木头).  Once pegged and dried, the damaged sections can be carefully re-carved, sanded and detailed to match. Some people may prefer to re-carved/repair every minute detail. Others may choose to repair major damage only. Depending on the shape and structure of the carving other repairs to joinery may be required as well.

Repairing of damaged sections of carving

3. Touch-ups

After any damaged sections of the antique carving have been repaired, if the screen was painted, then replaced sections will need to be carefully hand painted to match the original color and style.

Retouching the color

4. Display in the home!

The final and most rewarding step… Options range from hanging or mounting to stands and even frames.

Display in the home

5. Learn More

I recommend you buy the book Chinese Houses: The Architectural Heritage of a Nation from Amazon.

Enjoy!

Without saying if I agree or disagree, here are two interesting articles which I picked up off the Museum Security Network website (though one was originally from Bloomberg) regarding last years controversial auction of  a bronze heads of a rat and a rabbit looted from  Beijing’s Summer Palace  in 1860 .  Interesting perspectives – one must wonder if Cai Ming Chao simply “got caught up in it all?”

Chinese Art Dealer in Unpaid YSL Bronzes Furor Weeps as he realizes that his credibility is shot.

March 10 (Bloomberg) — Cai Mingchao (蔡铭超) the Chinese art dealer who is refusing to pay for the $40 million Qing bronzes he successfully bid for in the Yves Saint Laurent auction, wept when he realized that his credibility was shot and he may now have to close his business.

Cai, 44, spoke in an interview after turning away hundreds of calls from reporters about the Feb. 25 sale. He was praised in China for walking away from the bronzes, which were plundered by foreign troops, and has been condemned by other dealers. In the world of high-end art sales, where millions of dollars worth of items may sell on the basis of a phone call or handshake, defaulting is seen as unprofessional.

“This has damaged me: I have lost the business I love,” said Cai, in his office in the southeastern city of Xiamen. Cai said he had bid with the intention of paying, then had second thoughts and decided it’s wrong to do so. He again denied acting in concert with China’s government.

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Somehow I missed this one (which dates all the way back to 2007).  While I have to admit its a bit cynical to say it, I find this absolutely hilarious (on so many levels, I can’t even begin to touch on all of them).  From rampant piracy in China, to its historical context concerning fakes to the gullible nature of foreigners doing business in china. Either way, for any of us who have burned a few bucks on a item we thought was “an authentic antique,” its good to know that from time to time even the experts get taken for a ride.

A fake at the Hamburg museum.	On of our own “authentic fakes

These days there is a TON of news articles about the art market and China’s insatiable demand for Chinese artworks and antiques. Did I mention there was a ton of these articles recently? Regardless, this is one of the more interesting ones…

June 26 (Bloomberg) — Few people gave Zhao Xin a second look when he strolled into the biggest antique show in China’s coal city of Taiyuan, Shanxi, wearing straw-trimmed canvas shoes, black polyester-mix clothes, and a tobacco-stained grin.

That changed when he went to a booth run by Hong Kong dealer Raymond Chak. Pointing at Chinese gilt-bronze Buddha statues, he said, “Show me this, that, and that.” Ten minutes later, Zhao had bought about eight antiques for nearly 1.5 million yuan ($220,000). In the next hour, he spent at least another 2 million yuan on paintings, ceramics and other artworks at other booths, as bystanders looked on.

Zhao is one of the world’s biggest buyers of Chinese antiques, say art dealers like Shanghai-based Lu Feifei. He also belongs to a group of tycoons in China’s top coal-producing province of Shanxi, many of whom earned their wealth selling the fuel, and in recent years began paying top dollar for Chinese relics at auctions and galleries from Hong Kong to New York.

Reached on his mobile phone, Zhao simply said he was retired and wouldn’t say how he earned his money.

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Related Books:

Essential Guide to London's Antique Shops, Auction

Silent Auction (Josie Prescott Antiques Mysteries)

One of ACF’s local “inside suppliers”  wishes to liquidate his existing stock of restored antique walnut furniture from Gansu at reduced prices, as he is now dealing only in un-restored antiques. As an “inside supplier” this restorer does not normally sell directly to overseas customers and instead local furniture factories buy from him to then resell in their own warehouse at a premium. As he is one of the few people who specializes primarily in walnut furniture from Gansu province (halfway between Beijing and Tibet), this is an very unusual and rare opportunity to see such a large volume of walnut pieces in one single location. Normally factories will only have a few such pieces (which they likely purchased from him).

While not as costly as rosewood or Huali, walnut furniture is generally more expensive them Elm, Pine or Poplar and are generally sold at a higher premium. Availability has dropped and prices for walnut furniture have risen significantly over the past few years. Walnut is a much harder wood, more durable and longer lasting with a rich deep copper or caramel brown color with a nice grain and wonderful texture. Restorers also tend to use better brass hardware for walnut as the two colors compliment each other. Mostly from Western Gansu, styles are often understated, well balanced and elegant in their own right.

A few other things to know about this lot:

• ALL these pieces are antique (there are no vintage or reproduction pieces in this batch).
• Quality is quite good and all pieces are restored and ready to ship.
• With a very few exceptions 90% of the pieces are walnut and from Gansu.
• Not all items are pictured here (there is at least a 40 foot container).
• He also has a few rare items that are not seen very often.
• Sizes and proportions are very practical and usable.
• The flash on the camera tends to give everything more contrast and more yellow (note this).

Larger photos of the complete lot can be seen online at this address:

http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=254

Or go to http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/gallery/

then navigate to

Customer Orders > General Sourcing > walnut 05-04-2010

For price list/additional details email me at roger at antique-chinese-furniture.com

Related Books:

How to Recognize and Refinish Antiques for Pleasure and Profit, 5th (How to Recognize and Refinish Antiques for a Pleasure)

Furniture Repair and Restoration

Interesting recent find… The question is “what is it?” Are these oracle bones ( 甲骨 jiǎgǔ) ? And if so, why is  it not cracked? Or was this particular one simply used for practicing carving inscriptions? Or maybe even record keeping? Is this pictographs indeed an example of jiăgŭwén (oracle script) or is it seal script (小篆 Xiaozhuan /大篆Dazhuan)? What about clerical script (Li shu 隸書)?

According to the I-Ching, tortoise divination is one of the best method for making sense of the events. So, the very symbolism of the tortoise shell itself, would lead credence to the idea that this was used for some form of divination. Most popular and known for during the Shang dynasty, documented cases show this practice continued up until the Qing Dynasty though less frequently. Personally I would guess this example is Ming. But as I said, your guess is as good as mine…

If anyone wants to dig-in to what it says, Harmen Mesker’s website has some fascinating Chinese character analysis topics.

Interesting article on the FT website. You are not supposed to reprint their articles in full so, here is a few of the more relevant clippings from the article:

Sotheby’s is suing two mainland Chinese buyers for HK$2.1m ($270,000) in Hong Kong after they allegedly failed to pay for five Chinese paintings and an antique incense burner that they won at auctions last October.

The disputes highlight a challenge for Sotheby’s, which is increasing its dealings with less experienced buyers from new markets such as China, who are not familiar with international bidding rules. As China’s economy continued its break-neck growth in the past few years, many people turned to overseas markets to park their new-found wealth, buying everything from properties to wines.

The new rich have also been some of the most aggressive bidders at auctions.

“A lot of people have become interested in bidding in overseas auctions. But they are not used to the terms and conditions in places outside of China,” said Kevin Ching, Sotheby’s Asia chief executive.

In 2006, Sotheby’s was forced to file its first arrears cases in Hong Kong in at least a decade when it sued a Chinese buyer for HK$1.9m over two Chinese paintings. It later took the case to a mainland court, the first time the auction house issued a writ of that kind in China.

Two years ago, it sued a Chinese collector for HK$6.8m, saying the buyer failed to pay for a contemporary Chinese painting that he won in an auction in Hong Kong.

Now, Sotheby’s is suing a Shenzhen resident who made the top bid of HK$1.3m, including buyer’s premium, for five Chinese ink and colour paintings in its autumn sale in Hong Kong last October, but has allegedly refused to pay.

The auctioneer has also filed a separate writ against a Beijing bidder who bought an 18th century incense burner, or censer, at the autumn auction for HK$800,000, but has also allegedly not paid.

Original article here: 

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d11c5382-14d8-11df-8f1d-00144feab49a,s01=1.html

18th-Century Qianlong Jade Collection from Qing Dynasty

Appraised Value:

$710,000 – $1,070,000

Watch the appraisal video here on the Antiques Roadshow website. Or even better, watch this interview with the owner in North Carolina.

GUEST: My father was in China two different times– I think in the late ’30s and sometime during the ’40s, with the Army, and he was a liaison of some sort. He was just a Kentucky farm boy, but he learned Chinese and he met a Mr. Liang at number ten Jade Street, and that’s pretty much what I remember him always telling me. Mr. Liang would call him and say, “John, I have some pieces you might want to look at.” As children, we heard that some of them had imperial seals, and then I just always have been curious.

APPRAISER: Well, that Mr. Liang must have been a very, very good friend of your father’s, because he led him down the path of great collecting. Generally you see people who purchase things in China at that period of time, and they purchased things that were very, very poor quality. These things are all of very, very fine quality. Did you have any idea about the value on these things?

GUEST: This dragon bowl, as we’ve always called it, we’ve always heard that it may be worth a lot of money, but no, I don’t know the value.

APPRAISER: You start with, basically, the runt of the litter in terms of these groups is that bowl there. And that’s a bowl that’s based on a style from India that they refer to as Mogul style. And it’s Chinese, 18th century. Very, very thin carving, really beautiful, crisp workmanship. This one here is the same style, but only a little more ornate. This is also Mogul style, also 18th century.

GUEST: So 1700s.

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Related Books:

N.A.D.A. Antique, Classic, and Special Interest Motorcycle Appraisal Guide (May Through August 2007)

Deadly Appraisal (Josie Prescott Antiques Mysteries)

“Is that a crack?” About once a week, I am asked this question. Some of the times, its about furniture which has been purchased elsewhere. Other times its about our own furniture. It might have been custom made or simply the customer purchased it from from a moving sale.  Some pieces might have traveled the globe and eventually landed in a dry climate – a once beautiful stable piece, is now turning into a cracking, splitting mess.  But rest assured, at least once a week, I am asked this question.

Solid wood/old wood vs. veneer and composites

Solid wood furniture is strong, long lasting and can be re-sanded, re-finished and re-stained for years to come. That’s the good news. The bad news is, this comes at a price. Since wood is a natural, living, breathing material, it therefore has a tendency to swell / shrink, warp and/or  crack as it ages, in relation to environmental changes in temperature and humidity.  In door environments, in particular modern homes where dry electric heat is used, will accelerate this process.  If the furniture is painted or lacquered, this presents an even bigger problem as the lacquer covering the outer surface will crack (often badly) when the wood underneath expands and contracts.

Reclaimed wood waiting to be used in furniture making

One way furniture makers attempt to compensate for this by using aged wood and reclaimed wood. While all wood, including old wood continues to breathe and change,  unlike new wood, old wood has (theoretically) already reached its critical drying point over many, many years. Unfortunately access to reclaimed wood depends on the supply of old wood (often from buildings) which may not always be available in large quantities. Aged wood may also have a certain amount of dents, nicks and other characteristics that come along with age. And because its still real wood, this means it will still breath and change to some extent.

A second method of compensation is by using air dried or kiln-dried wood. Air dried wood, which has been exposed to outside air for extended periods of time, is often harder, though tends to have a higher moisture content and may take months or even years to dry. Kiln dried wood can be ready to use in under a month, but is softer as the artificial heating process stops the wood from naturally hardening any further.  The heating process may also cause defects in the wood such as the “honey comb effect.”  Unfortunately many smaller factories do not have kilns as the process is costly and requires specialized technical expertise. Even large modern factories shipping 200 containers a month may find running their kilns to be expensive and technical. Therefore because Kiln dried wood must be either pre-purchased or sent out for drying, air drying is the most common method in use for smaller workshops.

Stacks of "burlwood" veneer ready for use in furniture making

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Related Books:

Weekend Refinisher

Repair and Reupholstering of Old Furniture

“I have a lot of people approach me with inquires about selling porcelain collections they have either inherited or amassed over the years. I am guessing this might be one of the reasons why:”

THE OWNERS of a Chinese imperial vase which sold for €110,000 at a Co Laois auction on Tuesday – a record-breaking price for ceramics at an Irish antiques sale – plan to sell the remainder of an inherited collection of oriental porcelain.

While the Co Carlow family wish to retain strict anonymity, the auctioneers acting on their behalf said they were unaware of the vase’s historical significance and its value when it was consigned for sale. The family did not attend the auction and missed seeing the vase sell for 1,000 times its estimated value.

Durrow-based auctioneers Sheppards said the owners were “shocked but also delighted and chuffed” by the sale. They were also coming to terms with the potential value and importance of the remaining items in the collection.

[Read more →]

Related Books:

Kovels' Dictionary of Marks -- Pottery And Porcelain: 1650 to 1850 (Kovel's Dictionary of Marks)

A Winterthur guide to Chinese export porcelain

• Item: A pair of late 18th to early 19th century Qing period Chinese compound cabinets
• Region: Shanxi Province in Northern China
• Materials: Nanmu (楠木 – Phoebe) and Chicken Wing wood  (鸡翅木) *
• Price: 60,000 to 80,000 Chinese RMB (SOLD) **
  
• Condition: Purchased un-restored. Minimal restoration. New hardware. Carvings likely replaced after being defaced during the cultural revolution.

[Read more →]

Related Books:

Chinese Country Antiques: Vernacular Furniture and Accessories, C.1780-1920

Chinese Furniture: A Guide to Collecting Antiques

I like to poke around on the discussion boards located here and here on the Asian Art Forum website  where there are very lively discussions on a range of topics from jade, to porcelain to even furniture. Great place to learn! Which is why I thought this recent thread on Ming cloisonne was worth re-posting here. Thanks to the people who contributed their opinions.  (I have removed the email address to prevent spamming – check the original thread here.)

Subject:Ming cloisonne for your discussion
Posted By: kk Mon, Mar 01, 2010

Early Ming,
Mid Ming,
late Ming
or a late Qing Dyns copy.
Please give reason(s) to back up your opinion.

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Related Books:

Oriental Cloisonne and Other Enamels: A Guide to Collecting and Repairing

Modern Cloisonne Attracking the Wolrd (In Japanese) Rokusho Vol 29