In celebrating its 160th anniversary this September, Hong Kong department store Lane Crawford, has invited eight designers to redesign classic ming style chairs as part of its Heritage 160 exhibition currently on display in Hong Kong’s IFC mall. Designers for the Dynasty Revival exhibit include Tom Dixon, Michael Young, Jaime Hayón, Ilse Crawford, Barnaba Fornasetti, Qu Guangci, Lisa Whatmough and D.B Kim
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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.
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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.
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 name alludes to its former use and one can’t help but imagine monks keeping quarters with this table. Modestly estimated to be approximately 300 years old, there are several clues to look that allude to its age starting with the wood below the hardware worn to the bone from endless contact over the years.
Note: All images are clickable.
A common feature on many genuine antiques is defacement from the cultural revolution or “Wénhuà Dà Gémìng,” a period of great political and social turmoil in China’s recent history. From roughly 1966 to 1976 Mao Zedong launched a massive campaign to destroy the “four olds”, namely old ideas, old culture, old customs, and old habits. During this time, Red Guards burned antique books, ransacked architecture, shattered old porcelain and destroyed or defaced carvings and even whole pieces of furniture. On the table below, the faces have been rudely hacked away.
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The “chao tou” or wing-like swooping edges of the table are carved from a single large log with no visual seams or joints; a practice rarely used in contemporary times.
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A second clue to its age and origin is the thin layer or coarse horse hair mesh, between the wood and the lacquer. Not quite refined enough to be considered fabric, this rough layer of hair allows the wood below some freedom to expand and contract according the climate and humidity without cracking the lacquer above.
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And then there is the original finish, crackled beautifully through the endless passing of time.
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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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 it all so interesting. Unfortunately work calls and so I must to sometimes, just simply be brief! With that said, here is an interesting photo I took in the factory a few days ago. This is a Chinese mahjong table which needed to have the top floating panel replaced due to cracking or some other form of damage. What makes this so interesting, is how they accomplish this.
In order to match the color of the original wood, the replacement panel must be lightened. To darken a piece there are several methods the most common one being a coat of stain or varnish. However, in this case the issue is the opposite: the wood here is too dark to match the base color of the original material. So how does one lighten the color of wood? By applying an alcohol based solution and some heat, the color of the wood will essentially lighten thus matching the color of the original color.
The end result would look something like this table sold by EMWA Furniture in Australia.
The specialists guide to Chinese antiques is Stephen Fry proof thanks to caching by WP Super Cache
