The specialist guide to Asian antiques and exotic home decor from the far east.

Everything you ever wanted to know! A unique practical approach and hands on insiders peek at the world of Chinese furniture, Asian culture and oriental-inspired interior design (Antiker Chinesischer Möbel, muebles chinos antiguos, mobilia cinese antica)

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Entries Tagged as 'Oriental Antiques'

Cool Finds: A look at some 2000 year old, Han Dynasty earthenwares

January 19th, 2010 · No Comments

Note: All images are clickable.
During our treks and travels, we come across all sorts of rare, unusual and interesting things. Like this 300 year old temple table we stumbled across this past summer. Or this Chinese ancestor painting which eventually wound up permanently wall-mounted in a friends living room. But this cache of Han Dynasty earthenware, [...]

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Tags: Cool Finds/Rare Items · Porcelain, Ceramics & Blanc-de-chine

Books about collecting Tibetan Antiques and Tibetan furniture

December 29th, 2009 · No Comments

People frequently ask me for recommendation on good books to learn about Chinese and Tibetan Antiques. Here are a few from my own collection along with some additional suggestions.

Tibetan Furniture by Chris Buckley
Despite the author being a good friend of mine, and despite the fact that there really doesn’t seem to be too many good [...]

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Tags: Books, Magazines and Publications · Tibetan Antiques

The real deal: Looking back a few hundred years at an authentic chinese alter table

July 23rd, 2009 · 3 Comments

This enormous solid wood console (over two meters) which probably dates back to the Ming Dynasty, originally made its home in a temple in Shanxi province before being stumbled upon by us in the far off, dusty dirty corners of the antiques trade. Known in Chinese as a “Gong An,” or roughly a”temple table” the [...]

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Tags: Antique Markets · Cool Finds/Rare Items · Lacquers, Finishes & Patinas · Tables

Finding Treasures in a City’s Disappearing Past

June 29th, 2009 · 3 Comments

Li Songtang at his museum in Beijing, where he displays relics saved from demolition sites in the rapidly modernizing city.

Doug Kanter for The New York Times
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Tags: Antique Markets · Chinese History · Oriental Antiques

Chronology of Chinese dynasties & History

June 2nd, 2009 · No Comments

Below is very short but useful post reprinted from Wikipedia time-lining the various Chinese Dynasties (Click on H for the history of the dynasty, and E for a table of its emperors (or other rulers).

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Tags: Chinese Culture · Chinese Furniture · Chinese History

Antiques Shopping on Hollywood Road in Hong Kong

April 24th, 2009 · No Comments

Over the years, having spent a fair amount of time in and out of Hong Kong, it suddenly dawned on me that (up until now), this famous Hong Kong antiques street in Central, has yet to be mentioned here. Adding insult to injury, is that fact that for many years, upon my arrival in Hong [...]

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Tags: Antique Markets · Antique Reproductions · Oriental Antiques · buying antiques

Restoring a Chinese mahjong table with a bit of pyrotechnics!

March 26th, 2009 · No Comments

I get so backed up with blog posts, because there is so many interesting and fascinating things to see and talk about. And being detailed oriented, I really want to spend the time to talk about each item in detail, the history behind it, where it comes from and all the other details that make [...]

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Tags: Antique Restorations · Lacquers, Finishes & Patinas · Tables · Techniques & "know-how" · woods & other materials

Chinese reverse glass paintings

March 10th, 2009 · No Comments

The Antiques Roadshow on PBS, has some great Chinese antique-relevant episodes, particularly this one on Chinese reverse glass paintings. Even cooler is the fact you can watch these episodes online!  The Chinese reverse painted glass mirror pictured above was recently sitting in our shop before it was purchased by someone who is now enjoying it [...]

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Tags: Mirrors · Oriental Antiques · Paintings · antique appraisals

thermoluminescence testing for porcelain, ceramics and bronzes

March 3rd, 2009 · No Comments

Another super quick post but a link worth including here: http://www.oxfordauthentication.com/
One thing to be aware of is that thermoluminescence testing works only with fired items, in other words items like porcelain, earthenware or bronze. If you don’t know what thermoluminescence testing is have a quick read of the snippet below from their website:

Thermoluminescence
A [...]

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Tags: Porcelain, Ceramics & Blanc-de-chine · antique appraisals

Where can I find detailed information on Chinese porcelain, pottery and ceramics?

March 3rd, 2009 · 1 Comment

(This is a section from a previous post which I think is worth separating out here, since I am asked this question quite a lot).
Where can I find more detailed information on Chinese porcelain, pottery and ceramics?
Chinese porcelain, Oriental ceramics and Japanese porcelain and pottery are all unique entire subjects of their own [...]

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Tags: Porcelain, Ceramics & Blanc-de-chine · antique appraisals

Interested in Oriental rugs and carpets? Here’s an excellent resource

February 14th, 2009 · 1 Comment

Oriental silk rugs (and their cousins, Persian rugs) are simply gorgeous. They allude to a certain tasteful style which is both exotic and luxurious, yet at the same time classic and timeless all at once. Open any magazine with interior photos and there is probably at least one image in there with (what else, [...]

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Tags: Oriental Rugs & Carpets · Useful tips

Tibetan painted furniture: Dinning table made from an old door.

January 29th, 2009 · No Comments

We have a fair amount of Tibetan painted furniture, though most of it is not genuine Tibetan antique furniture (despite what many claim). Most are either new or vintage, though we do sometimes find real antiques. In general, it tends to be a bit too bright and colorful for my tastes, though nevertheless, Tibetan furniture [...]

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Tags: Asian Home Furnishings · Design Ideas · Tibetan Antiques

With this Chinese noodle cabinet-scholar cabinet, appearances can be deceiving!

January 20th, 2009 · No Comments

A customer recently sent me these photos of a Chinese Noodle cabinet which they purchased from an estate auction. Their inquiry was pertaining to its age, value and authenticity. In other words, a quick antique appraisal. The question of course was the one I am asked most frequently which was “Is it old and is [...]

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Tags: Antique Reproductions · Fakes and Copies · aimores, cabinets & wardrobes · antique appraisals

Guide to buying Chinese Antiques on eBay

January 19th, 2009 · 1 Comment

The Brutal Truth about Buying Chinese Antiques on eBay
This is a great little guide from an ebay seller who goes by the screen name of  loveshackbaybee. Its fairly comprehensive and worth a reprint here. Well written, very candid and overall good advice for the masses looking to pick up that “authentic Qing Dynasty vase at [...]

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Tags: Fakes and Copies · Furniture Industry · Oriental Antiques · Quality Concerns · Selling to the customer / Furniture Retailing · The specialists guide to:

Furniture Repairs: Improper restoration causes this “Old Shanghai” table-top to buckle and split

January 7th, 2009 · 2 Comments

(Click images to enlarge)
 Question:
A reputable local beijing based antique Chinese furniture dealer sold us this nice Chinese table. It cracked a few months after getting it.  He has his own shop to produce furniture as well as sell antiques. I am sending you 3 photos, 1 of each side of the table, and 1 [...]

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Tags: Antique Restorations · Chinese Furniture · Quality Concerns · Tables