Is your Chinese Antique Furniture a genuine antique or a recent copy? How does one determine what is original and what new? The answers you need are here.
Lacquers, Finishes & Patinas
Hidden beauty: Careful cleaning reveals beautiful color on this Chinese antique sideboard from Shanxi
You never really know what you will find when you start on restoration of an antique. Experience helps but its nevertheless often times more art then process. Since some customers, particularly those in the know, prefer to select antique pieces in un-restored form, which while exciting and educating, can present some tricky problems for the […]
Faux and distressed finishes: A “start to finish” look at creating a hand-rubbed black lacquer finish.
I find the processes used in the workshop fascinating, and though others might enjoy it if I share some of them here. Today we look at the steps taken from start to finish to create one type of finish: a slightly distressed thick black lacquer finish with hand rubbed edges. In this example case, the […]
A quick look at some beautiful antique Chinese painted furniture from Shanxi in un-restored form
During a recent buying excursion, I stumbled across these beautiful lacquered / painted armoires, from Shanxi province in Northern China. While not nearly as prized by Chinese buyers, who often prefer hardwoods like Hua li or Hong mu, the status of Shanxi painted furniture has nevertheless risen significantly over the years for its beauty and […]
The real deal: Looking back a few hundred years at an authentic chinese alter table
This enormous solid wood console (over two meters) which supposedly dates back to the Ming Dynasty, originally made its home in a temple in Shanxi province before being stumbled upon by us in the far off, dusty dirty corners of the antiques trade. Known in Chinese as a “Gong An,” or roughly a”temple table” the […]
Restoring a Chinese mahjong table with a bit of pyrotechnics!
I get so backed up with blog posts, because there is so many interesting and fascinating things to see and talk about. And being detailed oriented, I really want to spend the time to talk about each item in detail, the history behind it, where it comes from and all the other details that make […]