Been quite busy recently spreading time between Beijing, Guangdong and Hong Kong and thus have been a bit slow with blog updates.  Which is all the more reason why I enjoyed some free time hunting around of the back alleys of the antiques world with James from UK based Shimu Chinese Furniture (who by the way also a fan of Shanxi painted furniture and has a very nicely developing blog on Chinese antiques here worth a look).  Of course the “finds” are different each time and this particular visit turned up this amazing family Shrine from Gansu in western China.

Known as  ”fó kān” (佛龛) in Chinese (or sometime fo gui 佛柜), these are shrines of worship – essentially a family temple. In ancient times, Fo Kan were dug from rock much like niches or grottos as can still be seen today in many buddhist heritage sites.  Later stone, wood and other materials were used. Eventually Fo Kan evolved and began taking on architectural characteristics, modeling houses, official buildings and even palaces. In many ways they are very particular to each region, more so like architecture then furniture. This particular one is quite impressive and its owner would likely have had some level of material wealth judging by it size and grandeur.

The Confucian ideas concerning filial piety strongly reinforced the practice of ancestor worship and thus Fo Kan were commonly seen in ancestral halls, homes and temples. Inside would contain religious statuary or “soul tablets.” As ancestor worship is a complicated topic in itself I shall leave this for different future post. 

Probably late 18th or early 19th century, the inscriptions on this Fo Kan read  父母恩泽似海深  fùmǔ ēnzé sì hǎi shēn  (left)  宗族功德如天大   zong zu gong de ru tian da（right).  In English this basically would translate as “Our parents kindness is as deep as the ocean and the merits of the clan are as vast as the sky.” (谢谢小花)

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.

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2. A quick look at some beautiful antique shanxi painted furniture in unrestored form
4. Chinese Ancestor Painting
6. Tibetan painted furniture: Dinning table made from an old door.

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.

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2. Basic guide to recognizing Tibetan antique furniture – Part 1
4. Tibetan painted furniture: Dinning table made from an old door.
6. Integrating Tibetan furniture into the home

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

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.

Related posts:

2. Integrating Tibetan furniture into the home
4. Guide to antique doors and antique door panels.
6. Basic guide to recognizing Tibetan antique furniture – Part 1

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.

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.

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2. Guide to Chinese Furniture – Part 1) What is considered an antique?
4. Guide to Chinese Furniture – Part 2) “Converted” antiques
6. Guide to Chinese Furniture – Part 3) Fakes & Replications

Mongolian and Tibetan styles are the newest fashion. It are items where colors are very vivid and contrasting. At first glance people often are shocked by the used of yellow with green and red, saying that could never integrate into their classic living room. But that is a false idea. Instead, it will apart from adding color, life and variety to your room. Placed correctly they can be an anchor between 2 places with different color and style.

Interior designers and stylists can again use their skill for combining the right colors. The picture here shows a perfect integration of a Tibetan antique sideboard with strong contrasting colors into a classic country style western dining room. The piece is not screaming out for attention, but subtly adds movement to the space.

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.

Related posts:

2. Guide to Chinese Furniture – Part 1) What is considered an antique?