Chinese Antique Furniture History
Chinese antique furniture has a long history. Ancient Chinese furniture has a fine reputation in modern China and the West alike, It features profound cultural facts and superb craftsmanship. Chinese furniture was usually lacquered red or black and then painted, and often carved and sometimes inlaid with other materials such as precious stones, The development of traditional Chinese furniture went from the simple to the intricate, and was closely linked to the Chinese lifestyle and cultural and economic changes in China.
Examples of excavated lacquer furniture from the ancient kingdom of Chu (ca. 500 BC) demonstrate an aesthetic of minimalism and simplicity, and others are decorated with unique colorful patterns and bear finely carved decoration in relief and openwork. The blending of artistic form with practical functionality can be seen as a common thread running throughout the long history of Chinese furniture.
Low platforms were another early form of raised seating furniture which were used as honorific seats by high officials and religious dignitaries during ceremonial and sacrificial rites.
Fine lacquered wooden furniture had already appeared as early as the Han Dynasty. Records from the Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) indicate that these sitting platforms were called ta; the relatively longer chuang was used both for sitting and reclining.
With the eastward migration of Buddhism from India, chairs and raised platforms began to appear with more frequency as the status enhancing seats of great masters, along with the custom of disciples gathered around seated upon stools.
During the Wei-Jin (220-420 A.D.) and the Northern and Southern dynasties (420-589 A.D.) period, Western style chairs, folding stools, and other seating gradually entered China. Hourglass-shaped stools made of straw and basketwork also begin to appear during the Northern and Southern Dynasties (386-586 AD) period; similarly shaped stools of rattan are still found throughout modern China.
By the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD), stools and chairs had become common amongst the elite and those of rank. Prototypes to the yoke back chair as well as the round back chair appear in contemporary paintings and wall murals which depict the sitter with legs both pendant and crossed.
By the Northern and Southern Song (960-1279) periods, many types of high furniture had developed and were commonly used throughout all circles of life. In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Chinese began to change the habit of kneeling or sitting cross-legged on a platform to sitting with legs pendant on a stool. Scenes recorded within contemporary paintings as well as archeological finds reveal that tables, chairs, stools, and benches of the architecturally related recessed-leg style were widely used. This gave rise to furniture of level height. The technically structured and multi-decorated Song furniture laid the foundationfor the further development and perfection of Ming and Qing furniture.
The furniture was mostly made from precious wood, in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1616-1911) dynasties. Chinese furniture was highly developed in the Ming Dynasty. Carpentry skills had already reached a high level in the Song and Yuan dynasties. It is widely recognized as the best, because furniture before the Ming Dynasty did not survive wars and time, traditional Chinese furniture craftsmanship did not reach its zenith until the Ming Dynasty. The Chinese antique furniture of the Ming and Qing dynasties is of exquisite design, unique workmanship and colorful carving. It has been the rare treasure and one of the most splendid parts of Oriental culture.
This combined with the growing prosperity of city commercial economy, the rise of house and garden buildings and the import of large quantities of hardwood from Southeast Asia facilitated its success. It reached a high level of aesthetic success and could even claim a place in the history of world furniture.
In the Ming Dynasty, the demand for fine furniture, the ample supply of wood and the highly developed tenon mortise technology all facilitated the success of the Ming furniture. The Ming style antique Chinese furniture has been considered as the model of Chinese furniture, with its craftsmanship exquisite, its looks elegantly simple, the lines simplified and smooth, the mortise and tenon firm and the construction reasonable.
Craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty used the succinct language of art to express their inner feelings, and combined ingeniously with the beauty of simplicity and quietness. Ming furniture features simple, smooth, and flowing lines, and plain and elegant ornamentation, fully bringing out the special qualities of frame structure furniture. So the Ming furniture usually has simple structures, unique shapes and minimal decorations which would reserve the natural beauty of the wood. Ming furniture is simple with sparse lines and little decoration.
It usually features fine and durable precious woods, such as mahogany, sandalwood, rose wood etc..Lines were ingeniously applied to emphasize details such as the back of an armchair and the legs and resting bars of chairs and tables. The majority of Ming furniture was made of timber from indigenous trees such as pine, elm and zelkova (known as ‘southern elm').
Main emphasis was placed on the application of the natural beauty of the wood texture and adopting latticework and openwork carving. However, the lifting of a ban on imports in 1567 and the subsequent increase in maritime trade also saw the use of tropical hardwoods, mostly imported from South East Asia. These included the dense, precious hardwoods Zitan and Huang-Huali.
In the early Qing Dynasty, furniture inherited characteristics of the Ming Dynasty, from the reign of Emperor Yongzheng to Emperor Jiaqing. Influenced by China's burgeoning foreign trade and advanced craftsmanship techniques, furniture of the Qing Dynasty period turned to rich and intricate ornamentation, along with coordinated engraved designs.
After political power as stabilized and the economy improved, people began to pay more attention to more material things in there lives and demanded decorative and luxurious furnishings, gaudiness and sumptuousness were a basic features of Qing furniture which was usually heavy and sizable, featuring exquisitely carved patterns. Because of the high level of development of Chinese furniture in the Ming and Qing dynasties, most Chinese furniture design today follows in the tradition of pieces from these two periods.
Some pieces were carved from head to foot and had inlays of stone, mother-of-pearl, porcelain, metal, and enamel. Qing furniture in contrast is larger and more imposing with elaborate carving and inlaid decoration. These two types of furniture differed.Qing furniture had curved decorations and exaggerated shapes that demanded attention. . Beginning in the late Qing Dynasty, foreign living styles began to be adopted in China, with the result that originally predominant Chinese-style furnishings gradually became collector's items.
Chinese traditional furniture has a strong aesthetic appeal due to its apparently simple lines and the fact that it makes use of "natural materials" such as the finest hardwoods-no fusty stuffed couches here. Ready comparisons can be made to furniture, with its sparse lines.
Chinese antique furniture has a long history. Over the next few centuries furniture design and construction continued to be refined, leading up to the late Ming period (1368 - 1644), which is considered by most to be the golden age of Chinese furniture. By this time China had become extremely prosperous, particularly its coastal cities, and demand for luxury items including fine furniture had grown. Especially in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, it reached a pinnacle of fine design and workmanship. The shape of furniture during this period is simple, clear, and beautiful for its elegant designs.
The Chinese antique furniture styles of Ming and Qing dynasties are particularly unique for their elegance and de of Ming furniture was made of timber from indigenous trees such as pine, elm and zelkova (known as ‘southern elm').
Furniture produced during the early Qing period (1644 - 1911) was similar to Ming and continued to display classic, simple lines, however, Chinese furniture was highly developed in the Ming Dynasty. Carpentry skills had already reached a high level in the Song and Yuan dynasties. Ming furniture is characterized by a simple and elegant structure with fluent lines and appealing proportions The designs that came out of China during the Ming dynasty were much admired by the Europeans and have had a major influence on Western interior design.. Qing furniture in contrast is larger and more imposing with elaborate carving and inlaid decoration. These two types of furniture differed greatly in style but each reached a high level of artistic success and can claim a place in the history of world furniture.
The Chinese antique furniture of the Ming and Qing dynasties is of exquisite design, unique workmanship and vivid carving. It has been the rare treasure and one of the most splendid parts of Oriental culture.
Chinese antique furniture has a long history. Ancient Chinese furniture has a fine reputation in modern China and the West alike, It features profound cultural facts and superb craftsmanship. Chinese furniture was usually lacquered red or black and then painted, and often carved and sometimes inlaid with other materials such as precious stones, The development of traditional Chinese furniture went from the simple to the intricate, and was closely linked to the Chinese lifestyle and cultural and economic changes in China.
Examples of excavated lacquer furniture from the ancient kingdom of Chu (ca. 500 BC) demonstrate an aesthetic of minimalism and simplicity, and others are decorated with unique colorful patterns and bear finely carved decoration in relief and openwork. The blending of artistic form with practical functionality can be seen as a common thread running throughout the long history of Chinese furniture.
Low platforms were another early form of raised seating furniture which were used as honorific seats by high officials and religious dignitaries during ceremonial and sacrificial rites.
Fine lacquered wooden furniture had already appeared as early as the Han Dynasty. Records from the Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) indicate that these sitting platforms were called ta; the relatively longer chuang was used both for sitting and reclining.
With the eastward migration of Buddhism from India, chairs and raised platforms began to appear with more frequency as the status enhancing seats of great masters, along with the custom of disciples gathered around seated upon stools.
During the Wei-Jin (220-420 A.D.) and the Northern and Southern dynasties (420-589 A.D.) period, Western style chairs, folding stools, and other seating gradually entered China. Hourglass-shaped stools made of straw and basketwork also begin to appear during the Northern and Southern Dynasties (386-586 AD) period; similarly shaped stools of rattan are still found throughout modern China.
By the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD), stools and chairs had become common amongst the elite and those of rank. Prototypes to the yoke back chair as well as the round back chair appear in contemporary paintings and wall murals which depict the sitter with legs both pendant and crossed.
By the Northern and Southern Song (960-1279) periods, many types of high furniture had developed and were commonly used throughout all circles of life. In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Chinese began to change the habit of kneeling or sitting cross-legged on a platform to sitting with legs pendant on a stool. Scenes recorded within contemporary paintings as well as archeological finds reveal that tables, chairs, stools, and benches of the architecturally related recessed-leg style were widely used. This gave rise to furniture of level height. The technically structured and multi-decorated Song furniture laid the foundationfor the further development and perfection of Ming and Qing furniture.
The furniture was mostly made from precious wood, in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1616-1911) dynasties. Chinese furniture was highly developed in the Ming Dynasty. Carpentry skills had already reached a high level in the Song and Yuan dynasties. It is widely recognized as the best, because furniture before the Ming Dynasty did not survive wars and time, traditional Chinese furniture craftsmanship did not reach its zenith until the Ming Dynasty. The Chinese antique furniture of the Ming and Qing dynasties is of exquisite design, unique workmanship and colorful carving. It has been the rare treasure and one of the most splendid parts of Oriental culture.
This combined with the growing prosperity of city commercial economy, the rise of house and garden buildings and the import of large quantities of hardwood from Southeast Asia facilitated its success. It reached a high level of aesthetic success and could even claim a place in the history of world furniture.
In the Ming Dynasty, the demand for fine furniture, the ample supply of wood and the highly developed tenon mortise technology all facilitated the success of the Ming furniture. The Ming style antique Chinese furniture has been considered as the model of Chinese furniture, with its craftsmanship exquisite, its looks elegantly simple, the lines simplified and smooth, the mortise and tenon firm and the construction reasonable.
Craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty used the succinct language of art to express their inner feelings, and combined ingeniously with the beauty of simplicity and quietness. Ming furniture features simple, smooth, and flowing lines, and plain and elegant ornamentation, fully bringing out the special qualities of frame structure furniture. So the Ming furniture usually has simple structures, unique shapes and minimal decorations which would reserve the natural beauty of the wood. Ming furniture is simple with sparse lines and little decoration.
It usually features fine and durable precious woods, such as mahogany, sandalwood, rose wood etc..Lines were ingeniously applied to emphasize details such as the back of an armchair and the legs and resting bars of chairs and tables. The majority of Ming furniture was made of timber from indigenous trees such as pine, elm and zelkova (known as ‘southern elm').
Main emphasis was placed on the application of the natural beauty of the wood texture and adopting latticework and openwork carving. However, the lifting of a ban on imports in 1567 and the subsequent increase in maritime trade also saw the use of tropical hardwoods, mostly imported from South East Asia. These included the dense, precious hardwoods Zitan and Huang-Huali.
In the early Qing Dynasty, furniture inherited characteristics of the Ming Dynasty, from the reign of Emperor Yongzheng to Emperor Jiaqing. Influenced by China's burgeoning foreign trade and advanced craftsmanship techniques, furniture of the Qing Dynasty period turned to rich and intricate ornamentation, along with coordinated engraved designs.
After political power as stabilized and the economy improved, people began to pay more attention to more material things in there lives and demanded decorative and luxurious furnishings, gaudiness and sumptuousness were a basic features of Qing furniture which was usually heavy and sizable, featuring exquisitely carved patterns. Because of the high level of development of Chinese furniture in the Ming and Qing dynasties, most Chinese furniture design today follows in the tradition of pieces from these two periods.
Some pieces were carved from head to foot and had inlays of stone, mother-of-pearl, porcelain, metal, and enamel. Qing furniture in contrast is larger and more imposing with elaborate carving and inlaid decoration. These two types of furniture differed.Qing furniture had curved decorations and exaggerated shapes that demanded attention. . Beginning in the late Qing Dynasty, foreign living styles began to be adopted in China, with the result that originally predominant Chinese-style furnishings gradually became collector's items.
Chinese traditional furniture has a strong aesthetic appeal due to its apparently simple lines and the fact that it makes use of "natural materials" such as the finest hardwoods-no fusty stuffed couches here. Ready comparisons can be made to furniture, with its sparse lines.
Chinese antique furniture has a long history. Over the next few centuries furniture design and construction continued to be refined, leading up to the late Ming period (1368 - 1644), which is considered by most to be the golden age of Chinese furniture. By this time China had become extremely prosperous, particularly its coastal cities, and demand for luxury items including fine furniture had grown. Especially in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, it reached a pinnacle of fine design and workmanship. The shape of furniture during this period is simple, clear, and beautiful for its elegant designs.
The Chinese antique furniture styles of Ming and Qing dynasties are particularly unique for their elegance and de of Ming furniture was made of timber from indigenous trees such as pine, elm and zelkova (known as ‘southern elm').
Furniture produced during the early Qing period (1644 - 1911) was similar to Ming and continued to display classic, simple lines, however, Chinese furniture was highly developed in the Ming Dynasty. Carpentry skills had already reached a high level in the Song and Yuan dynasties. Ming furniture is characterized by a simple and elegant structure with fluent lines and appealing proportions The designs that came out of China during the Ming dynasty were much admired by the Europeans and have had a major influence on Western interior design.. Qing furniture in contrast is larger and more imposing with elaborate carving and inlaid decoration. These two types of furniture differed greatly in style but each reached a high level of artistic success and can claim a place in the history of world furniture.
The Chinese antique furniture of the Ming and Qing dynasties is of exquisite design, unique workmanship and vivid carving. It has been the rare treasure and one of the most splendid parts of Oriental culture.