wood carvings | The specialists guide to Chinese antiques

Traditional chinese houses – from the countryside into the city (with million dollar profits too)

Old houses in China's countryside are being dismantled and reassembled for the nation's new rich.

Very interesting article in the China daily talking about the resale market for Ming and Qing dynasty Chinese traditional homes which are disassembled, transported, repaired and then resold to restaurants, clubs or wealthy collectors. Now this is an interesting topic which I could easily get lost in as it just touches on so many interesting elements from Hui Zhou architecture to Chinese antique restorations to wooden architectural carvings.

The article is basically a slimmed down version of another Chinese language article floating around the net. Its not a bad article, though it leaves out some of the more interesting details like such as how the industry works.

For example, the middlemen buyers tend to be divided up amongst two categories: those with ample capital and those who as essentially un-financed. Essentially those who are “un-financed” will buy the house and resell it right away to recoup their investment at a 20 to 30% profit margin. “Financed sellers” are those who have enough spare capital to buy the house, undertake all the repair and restoration work and then resell it in restored form at a 40 to 50 % profit.

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Red star over China – These temple carvings from the cultural revolution era sport politically correct themes

Stowe Sprague was kind enough to send me these interesting photos on her blog from her visit to the Tulou region of Nanjing county, Fujian province. During her visit to a temple in the town of Taxialou, she noticed the temple’s architectural wood carvings had been replaced with “politically correct themes” rather then the traditional Chinese motifs. Apparently in order to evade destruction during the height of the cultural revolution, its care takers replaced them with more “patriotic ones.”

Carved wooden architectural elements salvaged from traditional Chinese homes gain a new lease on life…

I have had this photo of a “Pai Lou” (牌楼) which has been sitting on my hard drive for ages. I snapped the image of this particular one, a few years back while buying salvaged wooden architectural elements, which we would then restore and create matching stands for providing them with a second life. This particular one was from northern China, likely Shanxi or Shandong provinces. Due to Chinese export restrictions on certain types of antiques, its difficult to ship something like this abroad in its entirety, so I assume this one eventually found its way to a park, restaurant or maybe even a private home. But individual carvings are less of a problem and often find a new lease on life on someone’s mantle. On the image above, I have added some carvings we restored – can you see where each one might have originally fit into the completed puzzle?

DSC03388 287x300 Carved wooden architectural elements salvaged from traditional Chinese homes gain a new lease on life...

Unlike this one (above) which comes from Yunnan province in the far southwest. Notice the difference in style?

But I often find myself explaining to people what theses wood carvings were originally used for /where they came from. So when I came across these model images of the traditional method of joining these brackets and supports together, I reminded me to get these photos finally uploaded. Known in Chinese as “dǒugǒng” (斗拱), this unique structural system of interlocking wooden brackets places emphasis on supports rather then the walls themselves and has been in use in China for centuries.

S6004838 225x300 Carved wooden architectural elements salvaged from traditional Chinese homes gain a new lease on life...

Copy of chinese architecture wood carvings 16 300x226 Carved wooden architectural elements salvaged from traditional Chinese homes gain a new lease on life...

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A to Z: Restoring chinese wood carvings, wooden screens and carved architectural elements.

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.

Carvings cleaning and whitening overview 300x225 A to Z: Restoring chinese wood carvings, wooden screens and carved architectural elements.

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.

before and after cleaning 300x124 A to Z: Restoring chinese wood carvings, wooden screens and carved architectural elements.

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.

Carvings reparing damaged sections 300x150 A to Z: Restoring chinese wood carvings, wooden screens and carved architectural elements.

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.