The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. » Tibetan Antiques

Books about collecting Tibetan Antiques and Tibetan furniture

Roger — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:22:23 +0000

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 books out there on Tibetan furniture though even if there were, its likely this one would still remain at the top of the list. The amount of history and detail covered in this book is amazing, as is the fascinating and stunning images of furniture and Tibetan symbolism. More then just a “coffee table book,” this hardcover offers an extremely in depth look at the history, craftsmenship, techniques, meanings and just about anything else one might want to know behind Tibetan painted furniture. The novice will walk away sounding like an expert after studying this book and even the expert will be surprised at just how much more there is to learn.

You can also check out Chris’s RugDogBlog at:

http://www.toranahouse.com/rugdogblog/

Wooden Wonders: Tibetan Furniture In Secular And Religious Life

I have yet to add this book on Tibetan furniture to my collection though I plan to as it looks pretty good. Though a bit more expensive then Chris Buckley’s book it definately seems to be worth having if you primary area of study is items from Tibet.

Books of further interest:


The only book I am aware of on Tibetan artifacts and metal working	A worthy edition for those who want to plunge into the symbolism behind it all.	Focuses exclusively on Tibetan rugs carpets.

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!

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

Roger — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 15:52:52 +0000

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 does have its place and if the designs and motifs are subtle, they make beautiful accent pieces.

A while back we had a few old door panels which went out in a container, and surprise surprise, I stumbled upon our doors, modified into dining tables and coffee tables on the website of J.W Kinsey’s Woodcraft (Cabinetry/custom furniture makers) in Modesto California. Looks like Josh Kinsey did a pretty nice job of both preserving the original items and turning them into something more functional in the home.

He did a nice job of solving the issue of how to mount the door on the frame without modifying it (notice the strut across the bottom of the door) . The table bases seem to work.

The rest of the photos are on their site at:

http://jwkinseyswoodcraft.com/jwkinseys%20woodcraft/projects%20portfolio/Portfolio.html

Basic guide to recognizing Tibetan antique furniture – Part 1

Roger — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:35:13 +0000

“Tibetan” style furniture is a phrase used loosely and frequently items made just yesterday are placed side by side with items 50 or 80 years old. Of course, all are claimed to be real “Tibetan Furniture.” So when it comes to so called Tibetan” items, its important to know just what is is that you are actually purchasing and (hopefully) later on selling to your customers. So, without further ado, we will start off a series of posts to help you better understand and demonstrate the differences in the low end, the fake and even the good stuff!

An comparison of styles

Part 1) Locally produced “Sudo-Tibetan Style:”

An example of what we can be called a newly-made, locally-produced Tibetan style sideboard.

Characterized by very thick, raised-paintings in bright, primary colors, these pieces are often constructed from pine, southern elm or any other number of inexpensive softwoods. Finishing is relatively simple, with minimal attention to finer details. “Rough” is a good word to describe these pieces. But its important to point out that in reality, there is little about these (if anything) which could be considered “Tibetan” (other then the bright color scheme). A favorite with low-cost/high volume wholesalers & trading companies, they are usually “cranked-out” in high volume.

On the flip side, these pieces are inexpensive, contemporary, and make good accent pieces. Contemporary designs such as the magazine rack (in the examples shown above) make these easy to integrate into the home.

The stool in the samples shown here was listed as a “RARE Tibetan wood painted chair” from a seller on ebay. The magazine rack was from overstock.com.