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 Kong, I would make a beeline for this street – usually within the first day or so. For those unfamiliar with Hollywood Road (easily reached via the Central-Mid-levels escalator), this long, narrow winding street initially gained its reputation as an antiques market over a hundred or so years prior, when sailors and traders began to sell antiques and artifacts here which were collected during trips into the mainland China. Today, Hollywood Road (and the streets branching off from it)  is littered with small galleries, boutiques and  shops selling trinkets, antiques, Chinese reproduction furniture and even contemporary Chinese art. Its even reputed to be a gateway for smuggled antiquities from China. Though these days, I frequent the street less and less, I still find myself drawn to it from time to time, if only just to appreciate the wide variety of items on display here, often in very attractive surroundings.
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Many of the shops here seem focused on porcelain, pottery and terra cotta – with furniture coming in a close second in the remaining boutiques. Finally, a few smaller nooks and crannies deal in the range of tourist trinkets from calligraphy brushes to Maoist memorabilia, to imitation jade figurines. Thick lacquers, glossy finishes and a distinctly southern Chinese red, black and gold themes are everywhere. Table lamps made from deep sea green ceramics are if anything both stylish and contemporary. Shop owners are a mix of feigned politeness to genuinely interesting to locals who seemed to pride themselves on rudeness. Surprisingly often the most interesting and pleasant conversations can be had not with shop owners but basic employees who, free from the pressure of having to “make a sale” chat freely about what little they may or may not know about the item and or its history.

A bit of ancient, a bit of old, and plenty of “just made yesterday.”

As is throughout much of this industry, “old” is a term used freely, and taken with a grain of salt, this may mean anything from “just made yesterday” to hundreds of years old. Some are forthright, though unfortunately, some sellers can be downright unscrupulous. When asked “how to tell if its old or not” one seller of “authentic Tibetan antiques” smiled and gave me the following response:

“If you study these things and understand the product and the industry you will know just by looking at the piece. But if not, then you really need to just trust me on this. See if the piece “speaks to you or not” and go with what your true feelings tell you.

Uh huh…

Now this is starting to sound all too familiar. There were some pieces in the shop that were indeed antique, but having sold the same reproduction Tibetan sideboard many times over right down to the same coloration and motif, this piece was definately talking to me and it was screaming “bullsh*t!” Nevertheless, this line must work for them, as a two 40ish western women were in the process of deciding which cabinet they would purchase for their home (at a mere bargain price of 80,000 Hong Kong dollars!!!). If it were me, I would definitely do a bit of reading first before I plunked down my eighty thousand… And that’s not to say that every shop on the street is this way. But be aware – there will always be some with loose ethics.

This might also explain why some sellers become visibly nervous the moment I start inspecting undersides, opening doors and rubbing my hands over edges and joinery. One shop keeper immediately asked me if I was from “such and such society in London!” From this, I have learned that if I want to pose as a tourist, I better act like one!

No photos allowed.

This probably also explains the no photos rule, and the majority of the shops will meltdown when they see a camera, (and the blurry photographs I was discretely taking). Presumably this is to prevent designs being copied or (with good reason) people like myself from posting such photos on their websites. Yet, this always leads me to wonder – what is there to hide and in my own travels I tend to find that a supplier who will not allow a genuine potential customer to snap a photo makes me a bit uneasy and often alludes to things to come. Most of the designs are not original, so whats to protect? When buying or even considering a buy its easy to forget an item in the sea of offerings and when I am back, a snapshot will often remind this was an item I was interested in. I often find that I purchase more of the items I was able to take a quick photo of and forget about the rest.

Trusted sources for the trusted sources.

Applying my new found skills as a faux tourist, I wandered into a larger and very expensive looking shop a few doors down. Stocked to the gills in Chinese ancestor paintings, porcelain and tri-color horses, I perused through the shop for a bit, before eventually speaking with a very pleasant and polite looking Caucasian woman who the staff prior informed me was the boss. Clearly confused as to what I might want to inquire, she seemed focused primarily on getting rid of me as fast and as politely as possible. This I found perplexing, having waited a good half hour to speak with her while she ideally chatted with an, “older then me banker type” gentleman and his wife. Clearly my tourist apparel just did not allude to deep pockets. When asked if they ever “purchase” rather then just “sell,” her brisk and emphatic response was “from trusted sources only.” She did pause to reflect that even they have had trouble with fakes. Glancing at her watch to allude to closing time, she happily wisk’ed myself and my traveling companion out the door, lest my shorts and T-shirt damage their shops image.

Scratching the surface (barely)

One thing that has always both been a great advantage and also annoyed me a bit about Hong Kong is its close proximity to China. With such intertwined cultures, the border a mere 45 minutes north and ad campaigns touting Hong Kong as the gateway to China, one would assume these sellers would be buying right at the source making deep excursions into the heartland of China to build guanxi, drink Baijiu (Chinese white wine) and collect direct from the peasants themselves. Ultimately one would assume they are intimately familiar with all aspects of finding and restoring Chinese antiques.

Unfortunately (with only a few exceptions), I realized this is not the case. Quite a surprise! Many sellers simply cross the border to buy from the factories in Zhuhai and Zhongshan, who in turn may even buy their un-restored product up north. Stories of buying trips and other exotic adventures may be just a mere myth. In many ways, these seller are no more closer to the source then a trip yourself to Zhongshan. And yet Zhongshan is not much of a source anymore either – many of the southern suppliers I spoke with here, head to our area for their antique items. This also explains the myriad of surface level observation Chinese antique furniture books written by hong kong tai tais (or houswife). While great reference guides for anyone wanting to know a bit of basic information about Chinese furniture (Kudos to them – I personally own many of them), most seem to follow the coffee table book template of glossy photos but slim on good information that has already been written elsewhere many times over.

High Priced/Low priced

While Hong Kong real-estate is constantly sold or rented at a premium (I can’t image the exorbitant rent one must pay to maintain a shop on Hollywood road) and I do sympathize with shop owners on this regard, its sometimes hard not to walk away with the impression that what’s on offer is prestige, bragging rights and a dash of snootiness for good measure. All in all it seemed most were not in it for a passion for the product. Reputation, advertising and exorbitantly high rents seem to be the primary factors in setting the prices. Nothing wrong with this – but definately not my cup of tea. But again – not to say all are like this, and some people are spoke with were both pleasant and genuine.

A Frog in the supply chain

A few years back, a US customer happened upon some small ceramic frogs at a market and thought it would be a good item to have a large quantity of them  made up in a rich pine green glaze presumably to be sold as garden ornaments. Since this size was previously was non-existent it had to hand made in a village in Henan. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon the extras guarding the gates of a shop on Hollywood road. Asking price? A cool 6000 Hong Kong Dollars.

The last word

Despite my complaints and despite my “insiders perspective,” Hollywood road is still well worth a visit. From the art galleries to the design oriented Chinese style decor stores to the few reputable (abeit pricey) galleries, its a really neat place to see a lot of things at once and to take in some history.

If one does decide to buy on Hollywood road, know what you are paying for before you pay for it. Especially in the case where there is a chance the item may be a reproduction and were a lot of money is involved. And trust your instincts. Friendly does not necessarily mean knowledgeable. Also be wary of anyone who tells you to “go with your feeling” without explaining just how to “develop that feeling.” (Actually, if you live in Hong Kong, then you will already know to skip Hollywood road and head over to Horizon plaza at Ap Lei Chau.)

If you look like you have lots of money, locate the boss and have a good chat. Chances are they will most likely spend as much time as possible chatting with you in hopes you will part with some of that cash and they may even share some real knowledge along the way. If you don’t look like a rich man, then skip the boss and talk with the employees which you may find to be much more interesting.

On my next visit,  I plan to break out the Armani suit and go back for a chat with the same folks -  we will see what happens..

This content comes from The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. located at http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/blog/ For more articles please visit The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. - A unique insiders peek at the world of Chinese antiques & reproductions, Asian culture, exotic decor and oriental-inspired design from the far east. Everything you ever wanted to know!

Related posts:

1. Smuggling fuels worldwide trade in Chinese antiquities
2. Blurring the line – Is it an antique or a reproduction?
3. In search of Shanghai’s genuine antiques

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 it valuable”

Is it really old?

The first question of “is it old” is quite easy to answer: Yes and No. Before going any further, take a moment to read a post from a while back entitled “Blurring the line further… How to tell if its a genuine antique?” which will explain just nicely the points to consider here. Finished yet? Ok, great – back to this item.

In this particular case, the actual cabinet itself is a very common tapered edge Chinese Noodle cabinet or “Mian tiao gui” since the shape of the cabinet itself or the hardware (depending on who you talk to) slightly resembles the shape of a noodle. With carved doors like this, it may be mistaken for a scholar cabinet. In un-restored form, a cabinet like this may be referred to by the workers as as a “la ji gui” which literally means “trash cabinet.”A Chinese country antique cabinet such as the one above, in un-restored form, built from common woods (value is often placed on exotic hardwoods), of a non-descript style and in poor condition will often hold minimal value on its own, with its true worth being essentially as parts and raw materials. From a materials cost perspective, a badly damaged cabinet will be cheaper to restore then to build new from scratch.

A quick look at the overall process...

Here is a quick overview of what typically occurs:

1. Take a fairly standard poor condition country antique cabinet ranging in age from 30 to 80 years old, which can be used for parts & materials
2. Restore main structure, replacing damaged panels and other sections with replacement wood.
3. Add in additional details to spice it up like carved panels.
4. Add shelves and drawers for additional functionality (easier to sell)
5. Add a new lacquered finish to cover inexpensive woods, repairs, etc.
6. Use aging technique so item does not look “too new.”
7. Add detailed gold “miao jin” painting for an additional touch.
8. Install new hardware.
9. Claim to customer it is Qing dynasty scholar cabinet, at least 150 years old and sell at a premium price.
   
10. Finished!

A "trash cabinet," like the one pictured above,may often be worth more for its parts then the sum.

Is it worth anything?

The answer is yes! However, maybe not for the reasons you might expect. Its worth something, because of the time and effort that an artisan put in hand-painting the gold trim and other details. Its worth something, every time someone visits your home and remarks what a beautiful cabinet it is. And its worth something, because you probably have a story about where and how you purchased it. So while it may not be worth an extreme amount in dollars, money is not the only value of worth. Its a beautiful piece and would look great in any home, and you never know – in 100 years down the road it just might be someone else’s genuine antique!

Some pretty standard inexpensive Chinese noodle cabinets up for sale on the internet

This content comes from The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. located at http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/blog/ For more articles please visit The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. - A unique insiders peek at the world of Chinese antiques & reproductions, Asian culture, exotic decor and oriental-inspired design from the far east. Everything you ever wanted to know!

Related posts:

1. Blurring the line further… How to tell if its a genuine antique?
2. Guide to Chinese Furniture – Part 5) Manufactured Items
3. Comparing apples to oranges – more on determining quality in Chinese antique furniture

 The hand rubber, distressed finish sky blue hutch adds some pleasantness to the room and may even pass as French Provincial, as does the lemon flavored traditional Chinese stool with a worn down finish for that “clean but aged look.”

Lacquer colors like Popsicle, Cherry Candy, Green Apple and Salty Licorice bring more to mind then just plain old furniture.

French country – Chinese country – whatever it is, its pretty cool. These pieces were on their way to new homes.

Even darker browns and “plain ol” black and white take on a new life with a bit of hand rubbing to add character.

 The effect shows just nicely on this unusually shaped Chinese bookcase.

So? Why not brighten up your own rooms?

This content comes from The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. located at http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/blog/ For more articles please visit The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. - A unique insiders peek at the world of Chinese antiques & reproductions, Asian culture, exotic decor and oriental-inspired design from the far east. Everything you ever wanted to know!

Related posts:

1. Whitewashed, bleached and lime finishes are all the rage in furniture
2. Trend Guide: Rustic furniture made from reclaimed elm and other salvaged woods
3. A true work of art – The making of a Chinese lacquered room divider/chinoiserie screen

Reclaimed & salvaged materials are environmentally friendly in that there are no new trees cut down to make the piece. Sources of wood may be old railroad ties, beams from old houses that have been demolished or even old doors. Old elm tends to be a favorite as Elm in fairly common in China. Pine is also an option as well. Other woods are also used like cypress, walnut or beech though these woods are much less common and not available in large quantities.

Since the material has been aged it tends to be more stable then new wood (which must otherwise be kiln dried and chemically treated before it can be made to be stable). In essence, pieces created from salvaged materials are antique in a very unusual way – as the materials themselves have their own story, rather then the finished piece. Finishes are less of an issue to as rather then spend time carefully creating the right distressed finish, the focus is on the already distressed natural appearance of the wood. Construction is typically using the traditional methods of tongue/groove and Chinese joinery.Reclaimed wood furniture tends to fall within either one of following three classifications:

1. Antique / Vintage: Often these are antique farm items which have simply been given a clean up. In other cases they have been stripped down and their original finish removed. Often traces of the original finish & color remain giving each piece its own unique “hue.”
   1. 
2. Salvaged & Rebuilt: Old doors converted into tables tops with bases added are a good example of this. The prime element here is that a good portion of the piece is in fact antique and can be distinguished as so.
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3. New designs from old materials: These are basically new pieces built with primarily reclaimed materials and its for this reason that the line between salvaged and new can become a bit blurry. The dining table below from ACF China Co as well as the “Haider Natural” Dining Furniture from Horchow Collection & Four Hands are good example of this. The design on the Horchow table has clearly been updated for the western buyer as the bottom stretcher would not an original feature on a Chinese type of table.
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So, where is it reclaimed wood furniture being sold on the web? What are the popular looks?

Here are a few nicer examples:

“Haider Natural” Dining Furniture from Horchow Collection & Four Hands

Reclaimed Elm Table from Neiman Marcus.

Blue Wash Console Table from Wisteria

Reclaimed Elm Doorwood Coffee Table

From the The Olde Good Things Webstore. Looks so similar I wonder if it originally came from us?!

RECLAIMED WOOD FURNITURE from GreenTea Designs

Other nice pieces of reclaimed wood furniture out there?

Share them with us! Send them in or post the links here…

This content comes from The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. located at http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/blog/ For more articles please visit The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. - A unique insiders peek at the world of Chinese antiques & reproductions, Asian culture, exotic decor and oriental-inspired design from the far east. Everything you ever wanted to know!

Related posts:

1. Whitewashed, bleached and lime finishes are all the rage in furniture
2. Guide to Chinese Furniture – Part 4) New Reproductions
3. Guide to Chinese Furniture – Part 3) Fakes & Replications

This content comes from The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. located at http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/blog/ For more articles please visit The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. - A unique insiders peek at the world of Chinese antiques & reproductions, Asian culture, exotic decor and oriental-inspired design from the far east. Everything you ever wanted to know!

Related posts:

1. Chinese Cracked Lacquer Finish
2. Another cracked laquer effect
3. Blurring the line further… How to tell if its a genuine antique?

This content comes from The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. located at http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/blog/ For more articles please visit The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. - A unique insiders peek at the world of Chinese antiques & reproductions, Asian culture, exotic decor and oriental-inspired design from the far east. Everything you ever wanted to know!

Related posts:

1. Chinese Cracked Lacquer Finish
2. This antique crackle finish is actually brand new.
3. A true work of art – The making of a Chinese lacquered room divider/chinoiserie screen

If you read my previous post “blurring the line” you know how difficult it is to honestly decide whether or not an item should be considered an “genuine Chinese antique.” Answering this question becomes even more difficult when you consider the awkward journey a piece my take as it travels through the “antique-reproduction” supply chain. Consider this attractive low table, we purchase and restored for a customer in Italy. The first picture (upper left) is what it looked like when we purchased it BEFORE restoration. The last two on the bottom are the final result AFTER restoration.

The cabinet itself is a antique. It was collected from a peasant on a farm by a “materials collector” who then sold it to what we would consider to be a wholesale antiques flea market far off in Shanxi province, to the west of Beijing. From there is was bought (in bulk along with many, many other pieces) by a local furniture factory who re-laquered the front and completely retouched (actually repainted) the beautiful gold painting you see on the front of the piece. Or what DID the front look like in the first place? Maybe there never was any red lacquer and the peice was just a common wood color. So while the delicate gold “miao jin” paintings and trim look old, they are in fact completely new. Why is this?

The answer is mostly about business and economics. The cost of labor in the areas in the country side is also more expensive, which means that artist costs less then if he were located near the city. And an added unintended bonus is that the retouching was probably done by a local peasant craftsmen or artist who has been painting the exact same motifs, patterns and styles as his fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers have for generations. This adds to the authentic feel as unless you are a craftsmen from Shanxi province you will probably not know how to paint those particular motifs in just the right sort of look. It LOOKS authentic because in this regard it IS authentic.

At this point though, the piece is still unrestored which means it will be loaded into the back of a flatbed truck, along with a hundred or more other pieces and trucked overland in the open air eventually reaching Beijing. Chicken may catch a ride in the same truck and who knows what else. Along the way it will hit bumps, dirt, dust and maybe even rain, taking on a fresh layer of dirt, grim and dust. Again, this all adds to that antique aged look. Arriving in Beijing it will be unloaded by workers who see it not as an antique but rather as yet another piece of junk to be sold and therefore the scratching and scrapping really doesn’t matter. It will then be loaded into another warehouse – or maybe left in the open air for a few days before being restored.

And all this BEFORE we got it and restored it…. So, is it antique or what?

This content comes from The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. located at http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/blog/ For more articles please visit The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. - A unique insiders peek at the world of Chinese antiques & reproductions, Asian culture, exotic decor and oriental-inspired design from the far east. Everything you ever wanted to know!

Related posts:

1. Blurring the line – Is it an antique or a reproduction?
2. Comparing apples to oranges – more on determining quality in Chinese antique furniture
3. With this Chinese noodle cabinet-scholar cabinet, appearances can be deceiving!

This content comes from The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. located at http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/blog/ For more articles please visit The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. - A unique insiders peek at the world of Chinese antiques & reproductions, Asian culture, exotic decor and oriental-inspired design from the far east. Everything you ever wanted to know!

Related posts:

1. Another cracked laquer effect
2. This antique crackle finish is actually brand new.
3. Trend Guide: Rustic furniture made from reclaimed elm and other salvaged woods

This content comes from The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. located at http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/blog/ For more articles please visit The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. - A unique insiders peek at the world of Chinese antiques & reproductions, Asian culture, exotic decor and oriental-inspired design from the far east. Everything you ever wanted to know!

Related posts:

1. Blurring the line further… How to tell if its a genuine antique?
2. Guide to Chinese Furniture – Part 1) What is considered an antique?
3. Frontières brouillées – Est-ce une antiquité ou une reproduction ?

In fact, at times it almost seems like Chinese workers pride themselves on their ability to do things as ”cha ba duo” as humanly possible – as if there is some secret, unspoken competition to see just how far you can go while still getting away with it.  Will they accept 80% correct? 70%? What about close but not exact?

Some real world effects of “Chaobuduo” on our industry:

• The stool, bench or chair, which does will not balance evenly on the floor (probably when you were pointing this out at the factory, you were told “don’t worry, its not the chairs feet but the rough floor of the factory which is uneven.)
• You asked for ten and they left three behind. (chaobuduo).
• On that custom-made cabinet, everything was done right according to the written specifications with the exception of the specific “type of finish” you requested.
• It was “mandarin orange-yellow” instead of “lemon-yellow.”
• The outside of the cabinet was perfect – the insides of the cabinet were left unstained.

Preventing Chao Bu Duo

One can see how this clearly presents real challenges when building products to spec.  Some suggestions on avoiding (or if you are lucky outright preventing) the “Cha Bu Duo” problem:

• Be very clear in what your expectations are (and the desired result). Assuming that the Chinese worker making your lamp will know better then to not use the cheapest (and most dangerous) type of wiring is a receipe for disaster.
• Leave no details undiscussed. This means colors, fittings, wiring, materials, edges, insides, outsides, undersides, oversides, you name it – if you don’t discuss it and give instructions beforehand, then you are probably in for a surprise.
• Don’t fall for the “well some customers prefer it to be this way” trick. And yes, this IS a trick. Maybe it is true that somewhere these is a customer who does not mind that half the cabinet is unstained or the fittings missing or any other excuse.  If YOU didn’t specifically ask for it to be that way, then its not according to specifications.
• Be willing to pay a little extra. Maybe this goes countrary to what works back home, but in China, paying rock bottom prices will also get you rock bottom quality and even more so importantly, rock bottom attention to the important details. Unless you are Walmart, there is no high quality at rock bottom prices in China. In fact, Walmart only gets “reasonable quality at rock bottom prices.” The lower the price the more you encourage them to “just knock it out and get on with the next one.”

This content comes from The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. located at http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/blog/ For more articles please visit The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. - A unique insiders peek at the world of Chinese antiques & reproductions, Asian culture, exotic decor and oriental-inspired design from the far east. Everything you ever wanted to know!

Related posts:

1. Comparing apples to oranges – more on determining quality in Chinese antique furniture
2. Low Cost vs. Low Quality?
3. Do you know what you are selling? Because your customer might not.