About Chinese Furniture

Determining how much restoration should be done creates a dilemma or even controversy amongst Chinese antique furniture collectors.  As with any antique furniture, the most valuable pieces are those in un-restored condition with the fewest blemishes.  These pieces are available, but hard to find.  As one might expect, these pieces are expensive but still less than comparable Western antiques.
As has been written, most Chinese antique furniture had gone through a rough time, first at the hands of Mao Tse Tung’s Red Guards and later under new owners.  The Red Guards carted much of the furniture off to giant warehouses, “owned” by the People’s Liberation Army, where it sat for the better part of a decade.  After Mao passed, much of it was redistributed, with no consideration of its original owners.  A new owner in a remote village might receive a piece once owned by a scholar and used it carelessly in his daily life, leaving it with gouges, cracks, breaks and worn coloring. Such “provenance” describes the fate of a significant portion of Chinese furniture that now finds its way to Western shores.

It is important to look at these antiquated pieces from a Chinese point of view, not a Western one.  There is cultural value in pieces that have been worn down and worn out. They tell an accurate story of changes in the Chinese society.  Knowledge is the key word for collectors as well as restorers.  One must know the object’s history and uses and restore only when absolutely sure the action would not risk damaging the integrity of the piece.  The aim of restoration should be to facilitate the perception, appreciation and understanding, while respecting as far as possible it’s aesthetic, historic and physical properties. Chinese craftsmen were masters of layering different colors to produce a desired tone and depth in the final finish. Any major effort at reproduction is time-consuming, expensive, and often beyond the reach of modern-day craftsmen. The goal of restoration should be to refinish in such a way that preserves and enhances the existing patina. That patina---worn colors, bare woods, mottled appearances---are what make antique furniture so exciting! If treated well in the refinishing process, these antiques could become lively and warm additions to a room filled with Western décor, old or new.

Our gallery offers many authentic antique pieces that date from the Yuan Dynasty,(13th/14th century) to early 20th century.