The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. » Asian Home Furnishings

So just what is “chinoiserie” anyways?

Roger — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 05:06:57 +0000

While trolling around on the net, I came across this very nice blog post from Posh Living which does a wonderful job of explaining what chinoiserie is which is. A main staple amoung designers, chinoiserie design elements in a room are timeless and sophisticated. Since we have talked in the past about how chinoiserie screens are made, their post is a nice addition providing some historical background and is well worth the read.

“What most people don’t realize about Chinoiserie is that the style doesn’t come from China at all. As trade spread around the globe and Europe’s economy matured, more people could afford decorative goods. To keep up with demand for more ornate works, artisans created designs that were pure fantasy. Reading descriptions of Chinese scenes, European designers created their own versions. Often they are whimsical and even silly, and that makes them even more appealing.

“CHINOISERIE is a French word that means “in the Chinese taste”. It describes a European style of decorative ornament that was wildly popular in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and still looks great today.”

Why Chinoiserie at all? Europeans’ fascination with the Far East began in Marco Polo’s day, in the thirteenth century. At a time when few people traveled the world, exotic goods such as silk fabrics, carpets and porcelain reached Europe via a trading route known as the Silk Road, which carried goods by cart and camel across the entire continent of Asia.

For wealthy Europeans, owning artifacts from the Far East was a status symbol. With these artifacts came stories from the traders of the amazing temples and pagodas they had seen and the strange costumes and appearance of the Oriental people. Cultures from Persia all the way to China were called “Oriental” by the Europeans. They made little effort to distinguish one people from another, and the fanciful designs of Chinoiserie often blend Chinese, Japanese and Persian or Indian elements.”

Have a read of the full post here to learn more:

http://poshsurfside.com/what-is-chinoiserie

and when finished, the wikipedia page on chinoiserie provides some additional background:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinoiserie

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!

Reduced prices – Sale of gorgeous antique walnut alter tables, armoire, benches from Gansu province.

Roger — Tue, 11 May 2010 15:16:03 +0000

One of ACF’s local “inside suppliers” wishes to liquidate his existing stock of restored antique walnut furniture from Gansu at reduced prices, as he is now dealing only in un-restored antiques. As an “inside supplier” this restorer does not normally sell directly to overseas customers and instead local furniture factories buy from him to then resell in their own warehouse at a premium. As he is one of the few people who specializes primarily in walnut furniture from Gansu province (halfway between Beijing and Tibet), this is an very unusual and rare opportunity to see such a large volume of walnut pieces in one single location. Normally factories will only have a few such pieces (which they likely purchased from him).

While not as costly as rosewood or Huali, walnut furniture is generally more expensive them Elm, Pine or Poplar and are generally sold at a higher premium. Availability has dropped and prices for walnut furniture have risen significantly over the past few years. Walnut is a much harder wood, more durable and longer lasting with a rich deep copper or caramel brown color with a nice grain and wonderful texture. Restorers also tend to use better brass hardware for walnut as the two colors compliment each other. Mostly from Western Gansu, styles are often understated, well balanced and elegant in their own right.

A few other things to know about this lot:

ALL these pieces are antique (there are no vintage or reproduction pieces in this batch).
Quality is quite good and all pieces are restored and ready to ship.
With a very few exceptions 90% of the pieces are walnut and from Gansu.
Not all items are pictured here (there is at least a 40 foot container).
He also has a few rare items that are not seen very often.
Sizes and proportions are very practical and usable.
The flash on the camera tends to give everything more contrast and more yellow (note this).

Larger photos of the complete lot can be seen online at this address:

http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=254

Or go to http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/gallery/

then navigate to

Customer Orders > General Sourcing > walnut 05-04-2010

For price list/additional details email me at roger at antique-chinese-furniture.com

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

Hot Seller: Chinese paper and silk wire lanterns

Roger — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 12:13:20 +0000

Chinese wire lanterns seem to do well. In checking over our web analytics, I noticed we get quite a lot of hits for wire lanterns. Regular incoming request and price checks for them, confirm this is indeed the case. Whats not to like about them? They are cute, colorful, inexpensive and in addition to being functional, they make great impulse buys for any shop.

There also seems to be demand for them (hint hint retailers) as is evident by this blog post, as well as this one.

Graham and Green does a very nice job in displaying these wire lanterns

The larger ones range from 60 to 80 centimeters high while the smaller ones are as small as just 20 cm high.

By the way, for a fascinating look at how some of the lanterns are made have a read of

Big Uncle, The Lantern Maker.

Fun and funky distressed finishes to brighten up any room

Roger — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:50:40 +0000

In this recent gloomy economic climate, it would be nice to add a bit of color and I though sharing some of the neat distressed finishes we have been working on, might brighten up the days a bit.

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?

Integrating Asian style furnishings: Practical ideas from real homes.

Roger — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:14:06 +0000

Any furniture retailer will tell you that, many times the “end all be all” for retail buyers will be just how the item integrates into their home space. Sure, comfort, durability and quality are all top consumer preferences but overall dimensions, depth and height along with usability all have a lot to do with furniture-buying preferences as well. According to High Point Market industry reports, “Foremost, you must understand that the typical furniture buyer is a she, not a he.” Which means “she” is probably not going to spend time attempting to fit a round peg into a square hole (Unlike “he” who will either just hammer it in, or pull out the tools and change the dimensions of the hole).

Sometimes though even the most experienced sales people need some extra help. So what better place the photo sharing site Flickr to see just how real people are integrating items into their homes then on. Unlike glossy magazines like Better Homes and Gardens or ELLE DECOR these homes are real.

There is a article by Jim Green in the furniture industry publication Furniture Today entitled “Knowing Too Much” which touches briefly on this subject.

” A nightstand is a small piece of furniture, with or without doors and drawers, normally placed beside the head of a bed. It provides a surface to set a lamp or place a glass of water, a book, or pair of reading glasses. BUT…a nightstand might not be a nightstand at all. It may, in fact, be a chairside commode. It also may be a telephone table or a stand for a small 20” TV set.

Sometimes showing a piece in a unique way, suggesting a purpose for which it wasn’t originally intended, may give a customer an idea of how to use it at home. Transferring the piece to the clearance area is certainly easier, but in the end, it may sit for quite a while and ultimately be sold for much less.”

So with that said, the following are real examples (take from Flickr) from real photos of peoples homes.

This item was in a store… and they were considering purchase…

A great blend of European and Oriental style

Stools make easy plant stands…

One of my favorite ideas for a rustic farm table.

If you have more examples, please feel free to send them.

Whitewashed, bleached and lime finishes are all the rage in furniture

Roger — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 13:04:41 +0000

Recently we discussed the popularity of furniture constructed from salvaged materials like this reclaimed elm wood dining table and therefore it should be no surprise that the according to House Beautiful, the whitewashed look along with lightened wood, bleached finishes and limed finishes are growing just as much in popularity as well whether in Asian home furniture or European styles. Known in Chinese as “Shi ni,“ Lime, is a naturally occurring calcium compound which has a wide range of applications and used from livestock products to concrete.

Limed finishes as sometimes also called Cerused or “pickled finishes” and vary depending on the nature of the underlying materials. Reclaimed wood will generally produced a more rustic and “aged look,” whereas new materials will feel a bit neater – even if deliberately antiqued. A look at two sample below illustrates the differences seen in materials. Both have been given a limed finished.

The first board is reclaimed material. The second is new but “antiqued” to look more aged. The difference is even more pronounced when viewing whole pieces. A recent factory visit turned up these two examples. The first is a rustic farm table from ACF China and is constructed using salvaged materials. The second is a rattan chest on a stand from Four Hands and is from new materials. Both have pickled finishes.

Basic materials needed are usually just lime, wax and often some wood stain depending on the desired final color. The process (in brief) tends to be as follows:

In order to enhance the effect, the grain of the wood is exposed sometimes with a wire brush.
The surface is then dusted clean and color then applied is desired.
After any applied color is thoroughly dry, a coat of lime and wax is also applied and hand rubbed into the grain of the wood.
After the lime and wax is dried, any excess is removed and a final top layer of wax is applied.

For a more detailed overview of the process have a look at this page.

Its also worthy to note that limed and bleached finishes are a different then finishing effects achieved using lacquer like this antique sideboard which has a faux limed finish, achieved with white lacquer hand-rubbed into the grain of the wood.

Who is selling whitewashed furniture?
Lets look at a few nice examples.

Warrenton Tea Table from tomlinsonerwinlambeth

Low coffee table constructed from old doors from ACF China

Contemporary entertainment console from bungalowclassic.com.

Better examples? Comment them!

Trend Guide: Rustic furniture made from reclaimed elm and other salvaged woods

Roger — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:48:21 +0000

I was in the warehouse the other day looking over some pieces when I was reminded how much reclaimed, recycled and/or renewable materials are definitely a growing trend. A quick Google turns up a range of articles from Reclaimed furniture: Give trees a chance to buzz on various designer blogs. Even Furniture Industry trade publications are recognizing this trend which really started to take off last year. Furniture Today wrote an article entitled “Several sources introduce lines with reclaimed wood.” Another from FurnitureStyle Magazine is called “Las Vegas Furniture Market: Beyond Distressed.”

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:

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.”
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.
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.

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…

Hot Seller: Porcelain Garden Stools, everyone loves them!

Roger — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:53:47 +0000

Porcelain garden stools continue to remain extremely popular. They seem to add a nice touch to either the living room or the garden which makes them quite versatile. And there is quite a lot of variety in styles. Which may explain why they are selling so well out on the web. They were even featured in Elle Decor. There is also quite a lot of buzz on the design blogs on this topic as well including one amusing post entitled Are we over garden stools ? on a witty blog which describes itself as porn for decor addicts (love it!). On commenter on the post has the following to say about garden stools:

Garden stools are like bentwood dining chairs, Oriental rugs, tansu chests, club chairs, those plain swing-arm lamps Billy Baldwin loved, and large mirrors over fireplaces. They can be abused, and they can go through phases of being overly much in one’s face — but they’re never truly OUT.

A common question amongst buyers is how to distinguish between the various offerings out there on different websites. Stools break down into three categories:

Antique/Vintage
Hand made (new)
Mass produced (New)

Antique/Vintage

The ACF China stools (see pictures below) fall into this category. These tend to show some minor wear and tear. They are often heavier well as a bit more ornate with more attention to detail. Its not uncommon for them to have a bit of a washed out quality to them. Obviously these are the more expensive of the three kinds.

Hand made

The deep Jade Green Openwork Square Garden Stools at Gumps are good examples of this. Ornate, attractive and with their own texture. You can almost imagining them “aging into vintage” in a few years. Moderately priced, these stools will not be mistaken for Target bargains. Also over at one of our favorite design sites apartmenttherapy.com they are talking about Using Chinese Elements: Wisteria Living.

Mass produced

Style court’s colorful Juicy Decor fall into this category. Less expensive then Vintage or hand-made, thats not to say they do not make excellent additions to any space as Turquoise Chic points out about the ones she saw at the Mondrian Scottsdale . I love the manner in which Style court, describes her local shops as selling “Ceramic garden stools, above, come in luscious mouth-watering colors. “Juicy Decor,” she calls it…

Then there is coco cozy’s rundown on garden stools as well as anther great rundown on Apartment Therapy. So the next question is, where can you buy them? Here’s a brief rundown:

If you are importer, shop, wholesaler or retailer:

ACF China of course!

If you are an individual buyer looking for your home:

At present they are selling at quite a number of stores both online and off, including Mecox Gardens with their Lime Green Ceramic Garden Stools, Turquoise Stool, and Teal Side Table.

Gumps is selling Jade Green Openwork Square Garden Stools (which we carry also). They have Black Garden Stools as well. If you want to try some of these out,in fact they come in a rage of colors with silver, gold and white also being quite popular at the moment.

Red River Trading Co has some nice green ones also.
William Sonoma Home - Decorative Porcelain Garden Seat (thanks to coco cozy)

Hot Seller: Chinese Calligraphy Brushes

Roger — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:52:14 +0000

Chinese horse hair calligraphy brushes seem to be a hot seller recently. Actually, they have been doing well for quite some time now. We get quite a number of requests for them, particularly from smaller shops, boutiques and designers. They make great accessory items which fit with a range of decorating styles – and depending on how they are displayed, can be seen either as “exotic,” “world traveler,” or simply “oriental.” They are small enough to ship express and inexpensive enough to be impulse buys (while thinking about larger purchases). Whats not to like about them? They come in a range of materials from carved green jade, carved stone, pearl, bone handle, bamboo, glass beads or Cloisonne.

Sidenote: Have a quick look at this video of Chinese water graffiti which I found on Reuben Miller’s blog. Pretty cool actually and yes, some of the larger brushes do get used for this in fact. Every time I go to Jing Shan park in Beijing there is always someone doing this.

Like these brushes? Head over to our Home decor reference catalog for wholesalers to get some for yourself.

These are of course reproductions… One customer in France had an excellent idea on how to increase value (and add a nice touch as well). He requested we have correctly size boxes made for them.

Material Girls Blog noticed a great way to display them on the M Design website (which by the way, has some very impressive interiors). Had not thought of hanging them before….

Stylecourt, always hot on the heels of any trend, has some nice ideas for displaying calligraphy brushes. Personally I prefer these iron ones over the standard wooden stands. Head over to their post entitled Visiting the Cote de Texas for a bit more.

* Photo by Byron Newland