The specialist guide to Asian antiques and exotic home decor from the far east.

September 18, 2007 5:17 pm

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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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The specialist guide to Asian antiques and exotic home decor from the far east.

February 15, 2008 1:27 am

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Do you know what you are selling? Because your customer might not.

I am noticing a trend where just about “everyone and anyone” is now selling so called “Chinese antique furniture” (or some variation of this) and misrepresenting it as any number of different things. Items made just yesterday (antique reproductions) are falsely labeled as genuine antiques and the real antiques are often completely misclassified. I recently saw an antique Tibetan sideboard cabinet labeled as coming from Mongolia. Sometimes, this is just the result of the importer not having access to good product history and background information (and thus the purpose of this specialists blog). But in other instances its pure marketing and the low-end/mass-produced is being promoted as high end/hand-made. There is an interesting article in the New York Times about this entitled “Look-Alikes Draw Lawyers’ Stares” and one quote from this article seems to really sum it up in a nutshell:

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The specialist guide to Asian antiques and exotic home decor from the far east.

August 22, 2008 10:11 am

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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.

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The specialist guide to Asian antiques and exotic home decor from the far east.

September 15, 2008 10:36 am

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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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The specialist guide to Asian antiques and exotic home decor from the far east.

October 21, 2008 9:50 am

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Fun and funky distressed finishes to brighten up any room

In this recent gloomy economic climate, it would be nice to add a bit of color and I though sharing some of the neat distressed finishes we have been working on, might brighten up the days a bit.

 The hand rubber, distressed finish sky blue hutch adds some pleasantness to the room and may even pass as French Provincial, as does the lemon flavored traditional Chinese stool with a worn down finish for that “clean but aged look.”

 

Lacquer colors like Popsicle, Cherry Candy, Green Apple and Salty Licorice bring more to mind then just plain old furniture.

French country - Chinese country - whatever it is, its pretty cool. These pieces were on their way to new homes.

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The specialist guide to Asian antiques and exotic home decor from the far east.

November 23, 2008 11:36 pm

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Guide to relic inspection certificates, customs documents and export requirements for antiques

“If I purchase a genuine antique while in China,
will I be able to export it back to my home country?”

The short answer is only if it is A) made after 1911 and more importantly B) not classified as Cultural property. According to the official Chinese law on the Protection of Cultural Relics, before an item may be exported (including items which have either been “passed down from former generations” or simply found/unearthed) it must meet the following criteria:

1. “They shall be those of which there are large numbers of replicas and which are overstocked.
2. They shall be those unearthed during archaeological excavation which, after the completion of the tasks of scientific research, are no longer in value for domestic preservation.
3. They shall be those which, in addition to satisfying the conditions set forth in items (1) and (2), are strictly below the third-class* (inclusive) as specified in the classified criteria of assessment for museums formulated by the State.
4. In assessing cultural relics to be exported, any objects whose authenticity is hard to determine at the moment or disputable shall not be exported for the time being so that the outflow of important cultural relics out of carelessness can be avoided.”

In practical terms, this means that:

• That not all pieces are treated equally. Certain items will be considered more valuable to the countries heritage then others.
• Some items may indeed be antique but are nevertheless seen as of little value (in the eyes of the Chinese authorities). Luckily, this tends to mean Chinese provincial antiques which most non-Chinese prefer.
• When in doubt, play it safe if you are a customs inspector.
• First and second class antiquities have a zero chance of being legally exported. One rule of thumb is, if it looks like it belongs in a museum, then either its a fake or you likely have major problems. Fortunately the majority of items foreigners purchase are reproductions, fakes or converted items.

(click to enlarge) Beautiful Chinese country antique porcelain ginger jar with the original lid. Perfect condition. Most likely exportable without trouble.	(click to enlarge) Classical cobalt blue porcelain bowl with original period mark on the bottom. May have problems exporting

Its important to note that, Chinese classical antiques are generally subject to increased scrutiny whereas Chinese country antiques tend to be much easier to export.

(click to enlarge)	(click to enlarge)
Beautiful Chinese country antique low “kang table” from Shanxi province Most likely exportable	Beautiful Chinese classical antique low “kang table” from Shanxi province May have problems exporting

Why is China so sensitive about this topic?
Other countries allow antique exports…

During the opium wars (Late Qing Dynasty 1839-1842), countless relics were looted, with many remaining outside of China today often showing up at places like Christies Auction House. The government today considers this to be daylight robbery. Then, between 1911 and 1945 before the founding of the PRC, antiques flowed from the Liuli Chang market in Beijing, where French, British, German and Jjapanese buyers frequented. In more recent times, during the disastrous period in Chinese history known as the cultural revolution, countless antiquities, furnitures, porcelains and works of art were looted and/or destroyed by the red guards. And even today, items are still frequently stolen from museums and ancient murals have been hacked away from grottos.

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Wood furniture polishes and wood furniture care

We carry two main brands of wax polish for furniture. Both are hard wax polishes.

1. Golden Rooster is domestic brand which seems to be partnered with Kiwi. While this works fine, there is chemical smell to the wax which I personally find undesirable. It relatively inexpensive.
2. Harrell’s Traditional Wax Furniture Polish contains beeswax and is a bit more expensive but is an imported brand which has been around for over 75 years. It is a well known brand and many professional restorers prefer this wax. Its available in 5 colors (Antique - Khaki - Colorless - Red Mahogany - Georgian Mahogany) though we may not always have all colors in stock.

Golden Rooster (domestic brand which seems to be partnered with Kiwi).

Harrell’s Traditional Wax Polish

A bit about wax polishes

Waxes are generally grouped according to their origin with the main types being:

continued....

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A true work of art - The making of a Chinese lacquered room divider.

Today, we give you a detailed glimpse into the workshop of an artist craftsmen and let you see the many steps required to create a perfect lacquer painting.

Note: The large versions of these photos are online: http://www.flickr.com/photos/acf-china/2243528705/

The art of lacquer painting is a ancient one, originating in China thousands of years ago. In the Neolithic age (about 7,000 years ago), while cutting down trees, the precursors to Chinese people realized that the sap of the lacquer trees could be applied to walls, furniture and other objects, thus giving birth to primitive lacquer art. Painting with lacquer is a meticulous and time-consuming process which most people fail to realize or appreciate. It is a very meticulous labor of love to create a lacquer painting and the process can take at least several weeks or in the case of a series of panels, more then several months to complete. Lacquer paintings & screen panels are traditionally created in three styles which correlate to the color of the paintings background:

1. Gold leaf
2. Deep black
3. Vermilion.

There are other exceptions such as silver background but these are less uncommon.

Step one: Preparing the surface.

1. Like an artist preparing a canvas, the process is very similar only in this case the painting is done on wood. Normally solid wood is NOT the best choice for these and most vendors will use “plywood” which is less likely to expand or contract (any cracks would ruin the painting). First, a piece of wood is prepared by sanding.
2. The board is covered with a piece of fine white muslin cloth which is glue down on the board. This fabric serves a duel purpose in that should the wood crack or expand the cloth wrapped around it will remain relatively stable (and thus the fragile lacquer will not crack or become damaged).
3. Then the cloth is brushed a layer of “nizi” - a kind of Gesso or base adhesive and is then left for the adhesive to air dry for a short period of time.
4. This covering of adhesive is then sanded smooth to eliminate any bumps or ridges.
5. This entire process is then repeated so that there is at least several coats of sanded “nizi.

Step two: Preparing the black base surface.

1. next step brushed a coat of a specially prepared binding agent made from red lacquer flakes which are dissolved in thinner. This binding agent helps the next coat of black lacquer to soak into the cloth below.
2. After a thin coat its left to air dry for a short period of time.
3. Then brushed on top with a coat of black lacquer at least two times and left to dry completely - normally about three days depending on the weather and humidity.

Step three: Laying down the gold leaf.

1. Extremely thin square sheets of gold-leaf tissue (or im some cases silver) placed over-top of the black lacquer and affixed with glue. Generally the final painting will occur over TOP of the gold leaf. This is what creates the vivid yet subtle color effect you can see on the end painting.
2. If desired, these thin sheets of gold leaf can be wrinkled slightly when they are applied which achieves an aged effect small bits of the black underneath will then show through when it is sanded one last time with a sheet of extra fine sandpaper.
3. This is again left to air dry for a short period of time.

Step 4: Tracing out the design.

1. First, a traditional design is selected often from a painting or book.
2. Then a sheet of white tracing paper with a pattern with small holes (basically these are the tracing lines) in the paper is tacked/taped onto the panel.
3. A special fine talcum like powder is evenly sprinkled over the tracing paper which then sifts through the holes in the tracing paper onto the surface underneath.
4. When the tracing paper, is then removed the patterns remain on the panel seen as a series of fine dotted outlines.

Step 5: The painting

1. Now we start painting. The painter uses white lacquer to rough out the outlines of the forms in the painting.
2. The colors are applied one by one, layer upon layer until the tones are built up.
3. After the painting has dried, the artist will brush over it with a clear coat of lacquer . This process leaves a brilliant surface on a painting and also adds additional protection.

Finished! The end result is a beautiful work of art!

If you want to learn more check out this article on Chinese Mosaic Lacquer Paintings