The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. » Classes & Courses

Sitting on history: Antique expert Roger Schwendeman reads Chinese history by touching and feeling it

Roger — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 04:25:08 +0000

Agenda Magazine (Beijing) July 2009

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!

Hunting for treasures in Beijing’s Antique furniture markets

Roger — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:21:46 +0000

This past weekend, ACF China and The Hutong organized a field trip for local expats here in Beijing to visit an genuine outdoor wholesale antique market, where peasants from the countryside bring un-restored antique furniture and other curios to sell to wholesalers, collectors and restorers. The trip proved a success, allowing attendees a fascinating peek directly into the hidden corners of the antiques industry. A bit dusty, a bit dirty, and situated on the far outskirts of Beijing, this market exists solely through word of mouth and is not found on any map or guidebook. Chris Buckley, owner of Torana Carpets and author of the book “Tibetan Furniture” accompanied us on our excursion and his own post about our tip on his RugDogBlog sums up our trip much better then I can:

“In years gone by furniture vendors from the countryside came right into the city to sell their furniture, but these days with increasing ground rents and lack of space in the city the trade is conducted much further out from the city, in this case about 45 minutes drive from Guo Mao. This spot is strictly a wholesale market, with unrestored items piled high in the warehouses of individual sellers from different parts of China.

In a couple of hours we were only able to scratch the surface of what is a very large market. We visited several vendors from north China (Shanxi and Inner Mongolia), though apparently there are sellers at the market from most regions. It’s been a long time since I have looked at wholesale furniture like this (the last time I looked at it seriously was back in the mid-90s) and it was reassuring to see that there is still old furniture out there! Vendors are now going a lot further afield for their old furniture than in the ’90s and many are bringing in furniture from the border regions versus the central China styles that were more common in previous years. “

Though this particular trip was not a buying trip, we will organize future excursions, buying trips and longer outings, so check back here regularly and/or on The Hutong ’s Website for upcoming dates. Thanks to Chris Buckley for tagging along and for providing the wonderful group photos shown here.

Beijing Field trip: Outdoor Wholesale Chinese Antique Market Tour

Roger — Tue, 05 May 2009 13:26:09 +0000

ACF China and the The Hutong will be co-organizing a field trip this Saturday morning to visit a outdoor wholesale market where peasants from the countryside bring antique furniture to sell to wholesalers, specialists and restorers. This is an extremely rare opportunity to see where antique furniture comes from and what it looks like in its original un-restored form. 100% wholesale only, this market exists only through word of mouth and cannot be found in any guidebook or map. ACF’s Roger Schwendeman will be accompanying the group as a specialists and guide as well as to answer questions about styles, origins and history.

Estimated time (including travel) will be approximately 2.5 hours total (including 20 minutes each direction of travel time). The group will meet in front of the China World Trade Center (in front of Starbucks across from HSBC) at 10 AM sharp.
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Space is limited for this trip and we can accommodate up to ten people only which means you MUST pre-register. Cost will include transportation. Please wear comfortable clothing which can get dirty as this market is extremely dusty.

Insiders Guide to Chinese Antiques: A new workshop at the Beijing Hutong School

Roger — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 10:20:14 +0000

When people hear the word “antiques,” they often relate it to something their grandmother might enjoy – in other words old-world – musty – boring! Which is why we will be starting a new course on Chinese antiques at The Beijing Hutong School. We want to be able to share some of the rich textures, colors and wonderful materials which we come across in our daily quest for the the cool, the unusual, the unique and the beautiful.

Insiders Guide to
Chinese Antique Furniture

From finding and restoring antique furniture to collecting and integrating into your home. An informal, non-stuffy and hands-on, insiders look at the world of Chinese antique furniture. Some of the topics we will cover will include:

Intro to Periods and styles including regional styles

Field trips to un-restored antique furniture market to see where antiques are collected from

Construction, repairing, restoring and joinery

Lacquers and finishes

Woods and materials from stone to rare woods to brass hardware.

Collecting and buying.

Fakes and authenticating

Field trip to furniture factory

For more information on these workshops including class dates and times, costs and how to reserve your spot, please visit The Hutong website directly at:

The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. » Classes & Courses

Sitting on history: Antique expert Roger Schwendeman reads Chinese history by touching and feeling it

Hunting for treasures in Beijing’s Antique furniture markets

Beijing Field trip: Outdoor Wholesale Chinese Antique Market Tour

Insiders Guide to Chinese Antiques: A new workshop at the Beijing Hutong School

Insiders Guide to
Chinese Antique Furniture

http://www.the-hutong.com

The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. » Classes & Courses

Sitting on history: Antique expert Roger Schwendeman reads Chinese history by touching and feeling it

Hunting for treasures in Beijing’s Antique furniture markets

Beijing Field trip: Outdoor Wholesale Chinese Antique Market Tour

Insiders Guide to Chinese Antiques: A new workshop at the Beijing Hutong School

Insiders Guide to Chinese Antique Furniture

http://www.the-hutong.com

Insiders Guide to
Chinese Antique Furniture