The specialists guide to Chinese antiques » Design

A new twist on classic Ming style horse-shoe chairs – introducing the stainless steel Chinese yoke back chair!

Roger S. — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 17:50:55 +0000

Chinese red acrylic yoke back armchair from Green T. House in Beijing

I was reading over at Beijing Notebook about these translucent acrylic Chinese horseshoe chairs she saw at the Green T. House in Beijing. With clean and classic Ming style lines, these round backed chairs are a very updated idea on an extremely old concept. Very neat idea – probably not particularly easy to manufacture.

Sometimes, one needs a break from antiques

While admittedly cool, I think these polished stainless steel Chinese officials hat chairs from Chine Gallery are equally as funky. Known in Chinese as Guān mào yǐ (官帽椅) the name likely comes from the sculpted back which resembles a winged official’s hat.

An extremly designer-esque stainless steel officials hat chair from Chine Gallery

And with first hand-experience, I can tell you these yoke back chairs are also not very easy to make! (trust me I have done QC on them and a lot of hand crafting goes into each and every single one. No mass made here thank you very much! Same with these sleek stainless steel Chinese low back arm chairs known in Chinese as a “Fúshǒu yǐ” (扶手椅).

A very modern set of Chinese low back arm chairs in stainless steel.

Reminds me a bit of last years Dynasty Revival exhibit at Lane Crawford. For more interesting contemporary takes on Chinese furniture by contemporary designers try the book Inspired by China: Contemporary Furnituremakers Explore Chinese Traditions

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.

Asian designs through western eyes – a look at vintage and contemporary asian inspired furniture designs

Roger S. — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 16:40:01 +0000

Having spent so much time focusing on Chinese antiques, its refreshing to pull back a moment and look a contemporary twists on antique styles. And there is no better place then 1stdibs. And since I have had this post sitting in my “drafts” for quite a while, and suddenly wondered “why is this not published?” – well, no time like the present!

Assemblage in Chicago, has some interesting items on their 1stdibs page like this Vintage 1970′s Maitland Smith Gilt & Ivory Leather Asian-Form Coffee Table available here or this “Asian vibe” Lucite Scroll Form Coffee Table, one of my personal favorites.

Maitland Smith Gilt & Ivory Leather Asian-Form Coffee Table

Thick Lucite Scroll Form Coffee Table

A cerused Finish Chinese Altar Table – another updated modern take on this classic Asian form – this time in limed oak.

Cerused Finish Chinese Altar Table

Era Vintage Modern and ABC Modern, both have classic designs reinvented in silver leaf, like these silver leaf Chinese design horseshoe chairs found here.

Asian inspired Silver Leaf Asian Chairs

or this extremely cool asian inpired silver leaf coffee table available here.

Silver Leaf Asian Form Coffee Table

In addition to the silver leaf armchairs above there are several other interesting takes on Chinese chair designs like these Maitland Smith Chinese style arm chairs from Tom Gibbs Studio which almost look as if they were made from stone, or these exceptionally classy Asian Inspired Italian Brass Armchairs at Gaspare Asaro in New York.

Maitland Smith Chinese style arm chairs

Pair of Asian Inspired Italian Brass Armchairs

Another classic Maitland Smith design at Harris Kratz in the form of a Fossil Stone and Bronze Console table. Very vintage – very interesting.

Asian design Fossil Stone and Bronze Console Table

McGuire Furniture‘s Ming Alter Table is not really a reinvention though nevertheless deserves a place here, as do the designs Chinese American furniture designer Robert Kuo.

McGuire Furniture Ming Alter Table

Robert Kuo Altar Table

Who else am I missing….?

Chinese furniture in B&W: historical perspectives from old china

Roger S. — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 18:17:12 +0000

This particular image was taken from Ralphrepo’s photo stream on flicker and it apparently comes from a book called “The Face Of China As Seen By Photographers & Travelers 1860-1912.” He has a much longer and interesting commentary with a snip in which the furniture itself is mentioned. “Socially, the furniture belies a family of some affluence. The wooden foot stools at the time were used not for the height challenged but rather to provide insulation against having to put one’s feet onto a cold and unheated floor.”

This image of a Sedan Chair, is entitled “Bride On Her Way To Wedding, Fuzhou Fujian China” and was taken from Ralphrepo’s photo stream (if you are wondering about the basket, think “wedding veil”).

This stereoview image also comes from Flickr, this time from Wolfgang Wiggers photostream. It was taken Guangzhou in the 1860′ies (more commonly known at that time as “canton”). Notice the gate leg or “drop-leaf” table seen in the center background

Another interesting image from Ralphrepo, in which a side view of a vanity can be seen. This particular image was also taken in Canton in 1868 by John Thomson.

From a German photographic album with photographs from the Tsingtau (Qingdao) area around 1900. This image also comes from Wolfgang Wiggers flickr page .

A bit of a gruesome image, this photo was taken in the early 1900′s during the boxer rebellion. Nevertheless it it shows a very common long bench and farm table in a typical environment. This particular one has been modified to suite modern use by shortening the depth. The inset stone panel is not original.

This image was found on a Chinese website and really needs no introduction…

Another unique, though not quite as gruesome image taken in 1900 and entitled “Chinese punishment: whipping a lawbreaker.” Notice the frame unit in which the prisoner is bent across? Though I would assume this piece was purpose built, it nevertheless suspiciously looks quite similar in form to the base of a Chinese standing screen. Or maybe a large stacking food box…

A work chest / toolbox from street vendor

An antique Chinese wooden barber’s stool. Does your hairdresser have one of these?

By the way, if you are interested in seeing more of these fascinating images, here are a few potential books:

A jewelry box sitting atop a high side table known as a “flower stand.”

A photo of a “heavenly wheelbarrow” (the caption on the back of the wheelbarrow says “Heavenly Wheelbarrow) taken in 1910 in or near Qingdao.

Dynasty Revival: Lane Crawford takes an updated look at Ming dynasty chair designs

Roger S. — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 06:20:21 +0000

In celebrating its 160th anniversary this September, Hong Kong department store Lane Crawford, has invited eight designers to redesign classic ming style chairs as part of its Heritage 160 exhibition currently on display in Hong Kong’s IFC mall. Designers for the Dynasty Revival exhibit include Tom Dixon, Michael Young, Jaime Hayón, Ilse Crawford, Barnaba Fornasetti, Qu Guangci, Lisa Whatmough and D.B Kim

So just what is “chinoiserie” anyways?

Roger S. — 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

A true work of art – The making of a Chinese lacquered room divider/chinoiserie screen

How to find 3d models of Chinese furniture.

Roger S. — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:52:56 +0000

Here’s a somewhat arcane post, yet one that’s incredibly useful for anyone who is either an interior designer, furniture designer or even just someone redecorating their home with one of the many 3d programs like Google sketchup. Which brings me to the topic of this post: where to find 3d models of Chinese furniture

So, here are a few suggested sites:

Free sites:

http://www.3dmodelfree.com/3dmodel/list425-1.htm

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/

Paid Sites:

http://www.the123d.com/furniture_collections/asian_furniture_kit.html

http://www.turbosquid.com/FullPreview/Index.cfm/ID/330344

http://www.the3dstudio.com/product_search.aspx?id_category_0=0&search=Chinese+furniture

Can furniture get drunk? A look at the works of Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei

Roger S. — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:20:53 +0000

This wouldn’t a proper blog on Chinese furniture and culture without a least a mention of the Chinese contemporary artist Ai Wei Wei, who reinterprets traditional and classical furniture designs in unexpected ways. In one instance, “officials hat chairs” are carved from solid blocks of white marble (and with no joinery I might add). In another, a terra-cotta Han dynasty vase is emblazoned with the logo of Coca Cola. An excellent quote by Geoff Manaugh sums up Ai Wei Wei’s work just nicely!

“For “Grapes”, 2008, Ai partially merged ten stools; they force their way into the others structure, like mutant siblings slowly fusing in the womb. Here, several centuries’ worth of artisan furniture production have been hybridized to form something altogether new. In Ai’s Table with Two Legs on the Wall, 1997, a single table has been folded in half to rear up like a horse and rest its legs against the wall. It is cousins with the centaur: a mythic being trapped between two forms, two competing versions of itself. Another table – “Table with Three Legs”, 2008 – has been turned into a spidery mechanism, a low-tech machine of wood, its legs akimbo and stance slightly askew. Carefully poised, it seems so unsure of itself – yet strangely at ease with its unusual new form. Can furniture get drunk?, one might ask. “Table with Three Legs” offers an answer in its very geometry.”

For more on Ai Wei Wei see: http://phillipsartexpert.com/forums/7/597/ or http://www.phillipsdepury.com/exhibitions.aspx?sn=EXUK1009

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

Roger S. — 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