The specialists guide to Chinese antiques

Guide to antique doors and antique door panels.

I was in the warehouse just a few days ago, looking over a batch of antique door panels which just came in and it really reminded me just how cool some of these pieces are, especially the iron hardware, the various textures, and the overall character and charm of these bits of history.

In the raw and just in…

You can see all shapes and all sizes come in from smaller doors from private homes, to huge double doors which look almost as if they came from the doors guarding a castle.

Restoration and cleaning them up.

Often the door frames may be badly damaged and need to be reconstructed. Supports or other missing sections are replaced in the same manner and construction as the original.

Here you can see damaged sections which have been replaced using old wood, in this case the bottom stretchers on the frame and a support for the lock in the back.

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ACF China appears on China Central Television’s “Culture Express” program

A while back, ACF’s Roger Schwendeman was featured on CCTV (China Central Television) Channel 4′s program Culture Express. CCTV 4 is broadcast throughout China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and worldwide via satellite.

CCTV’s team accompanied Roger for several days during buying trips of un-restored Chinese antiques, and then onward to oversee the next steps of restorations and repairs. They also accompanied him to the Panjiayuan weekend market. We have not yet uploaded the video but plan to do so to soon.

2494052011 0c780ee520 ACF China appears on China Central Televisions Culture Express program

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2494869720 f26b9758e4 ACF China appears on China Central Televisions Culture Express program 2494869820 1abc2c043b ACF China appears on China Central Televisions Culture Express program

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Wood Finishing Articles & Information

Here is some great collection of articles I found on wood finish supply.com’s website about lacquers & wood finishing. Its quite technical and really intended for woodworkers and the like but if thats you, then this is a good resource.

Here is a sample of some of the articals:

The Atanomy of A Wood Finish
These 3 basic finish steps apply to all finishes from the most basic wax or oil finish
to high-tec coatings and even painting the exterior of a house or a room wall.
COLOR THEORY for the Woodworker & Furniture Finisher
Mixing Stains or Dyes & Color Computer Instructions.
Glossary of Finishing Terms
Woodfinishing Lingo

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Buying unrestored: Custom antique restorations means usability

One of the best things about controlling your own restorations is the ability to decide what the final result will look like. This end result can sometimes be as important as the original because the “customer’s customer” is going to be thinking about where and how the piece will fit into their home. Often a “buy or not buy” decision will be made based on small details. Because ethnic furnishings is a industry like any other, as buyers one must think also about the end consumer and factor their needs into any buying decisions.
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Blurring the line further… How to tell if its a genuine antique?

If you read my previous post “blurring the line” you know how difficult it is to honestly decide whether or not an item should be considered an “genuine Chinese antique.” Answering this question becomes even more difficult when you consider the awkward journey a piece my take as it travels through the “antique-reproduction” supply chain. Consider this attractive low table, we purchase and restored for a customer in Italy. The first picture (upper left) is what it looked like when we purchased it BEFORE restoration. The last two on the bottom are the final result AFTER restoration.

The cabinet itself is a antique. It was collected from a peasant on a farm by a “materials collector” who then sold it to what we would consider to be a wholesale antiques flea market far off in Shanxi province, to the west of Beijing. From there is was bought (in bulk along with many, many other pieces) by a local furniture factory who re-laquered the front and completely retouched (actually repainted) the beautiful gold painting you see on the front of the piece. Or what DID the front look like in the first place? Maybe there never was any red lacquer and the peice was just a common wood color. So while the delicate gold “miao jin” paintings and trim look old, they are in fact completely new. Why is this?

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Restoration of wood carvings & Screens

Another great youtube find… This one shows a vendor that clearly specializes in screens & panels . Not sure if this was shot during a buying trip or if the person was simply on holiday. Its still quite interesting though… Based on the surroundings, it looks like it was shot a few years ago as this area has changed quite a bit since then.