Chinese Furniture: A Guide to Collecting Antiques

by Karen Mazurkewich, A. Chester Ong (Photographer)

Overview

The international market for antique Chinese furniture is booming, and masterpieces from the Ming and Qing dynasties are now worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Chinese Furniture is a survey of these collectibles—from the very best hardwood pieces featured to standard softwood specimens still available on the Asian market.

This antique furniture book presents an overview of carving styles, wood types, regional variations, class distinctions and restoration techniques. It includes detailed chapters on various types of wooden furniture cover chairs, stools and benches, tables and desks, beds, cabinets and bookshelves, doors and screens and household accessories.

With this renewed interest in antique furniture, a forgery market has emerged. Thousands of factories in southern China are churning out brand new or refurbished furniture and passing them off as Chinese antiques. Chinese Furniture unearths these forgeries and serves as an indispensable reference guide for collectors of antique wood furniture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781462906925
Publisher:	Tuttle Publishing
Publication date:	09/19/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	32 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Karen Mazurkewich is an Asian Wall Street Journal reporter who has covered Asian culture and the retail scene for three years from her base in Hong Kong. Mazurkewich has investigated art forgery, interviewed countless collectors, grilled innovative businessmen, and queried tradesmen—all in a quest to better understand the business and culture of fine furniture collecting in Asia.

A.Chester Ong, born in the Philippines and currently based in Hong Kong, has photographed widely throughout Asia. His photography appears in magazines, exhibitions, as well as books. Tuttle Publishing titles featuring his photography are Tropical Living: Contemporary Dream Houses in the Philippines, China Modern, and Chinese Houses.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction2. History3. Classification4. The Chair5. The Table6. The Bed7. The Cabinet8. The Stool9. The Bench10. The Screen11. Household Accessories12. Furniture and Social Hierarchy13. Regional Differences14. Restoration15. A Buyer's Guide

Editorial Reviews

"Guide is the key word here, since the author is not a scholar. She does, however, pull a lot of information together about subjects ranging from classic 17th-century Ming hardwood pieces to Shanghai Art Deco styles of the 193s, and she carries the exposition right up to the present, with horrible but relevant Western-style examples." —Art & Auction

"Karen Mazurkewich has spent years researching and investigating antiques and manufacturing in Asia. She puts her experience to use in this well-illustrated book." —The Maine Antique Digest

" [Chinese Furniture] shows authentic classics from beds to household accessories, with advice on how pieces were constructed. There is a section on fakes, but identification and knowing authentic ancient to modern looks is the point of this book." —The Smart Collector

From the Publisher