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Foreigners
have played a important role in creating the Ming and Qing
furniture collection craze. Collectors began looking for
pieces as early as the 17th century, when furniture was taken
from imperial courts following the downfall of the Ming Dynasty.
THE MING DYNASTY FURNITURE
Ming furniture usually features fine, durable woods.
Rose wood was most commonly used, but red sandalwood, a flawless, brownish purple
wood, was often favored for its shiny surface. Mahogany was also a favorite because
of its fine texture and invisible veins. China's famous tendon-mortise technology,
used to construct furniture without any nails, was developed to its zenith during
the Ming Dynasty. |
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Chinese arts often combine contradictory
factors such as lopsidedness and straightness, simplicity and
complexity, movement and quietness. From ink-and-wash paintings
to furniture, the beauty of simplicity and quietness is ingeniously
emphasized. Ming Dynasty artisans used the succinct language
of art to express their inner feelings. Ming pieces feature
unique shapes, simple structures, and minimal decor. Craftsmen
chose to emphasize the natural beauty of the wood.
Lines were ingeniously used to emphasize furniture's
parts such as the back of an armchair, the horizontal bar under a desk for resting
feet, and the legs of chairs and tables. The S-shaped curve of the back of Ming
armchairs are often praised by Westerners for their beauty and ergonomic perfection.
THE QING DYNASTY FURNITURE
During the Qing Dynasty, furniture began to take on a
more novel appearance. Craftsmen began making Qing-style furniture after Emperor
Qianlong's reign (1736-1795). After political power was stabilized and the economy
improved, people began to pay more attention to their material .
To satisfy people's desires for decorative and luxurious
furnishings, Qing furniture came in many varieties. The furniture is heavy and
sizable, and features exquisitely carved patterns. Some pieces were carved from
head to foot and had inlays of stone, mother-of-pearl, porcelain, metal, and
enamel. Qing furniture's curved decorations and exaggerated shapes demand attention,
but some say that the over-emphasis on decoration lowered the artistic level
of the furniture.
SEVERAL REPRESENTATIVE MASTERPIECES
Luohan bed.
The bed features railings on three sides with one railing
slightly higher than the others. The bed was often placed in the sitting rooms
-- sort of as the equivalent of the modern chaise lounge. In Beijing's Forbidden
City, there is such a bed for the emperor, called "Throne of Golden Chimes."
The Taishi Chair.
This is a comfortable, round-backed armchair. An official
of the Song Dynasty sought to curry favor with Qin Kuai, the treacherous prime
minister, or taishi. So, he added a lotus leaf-shaped decoration to the back
of Qin's chair where his head rested. The addition quickly became a fad, and
was hence named after the prime minister.
The Rose Chair.
Shaped as an official-cap shape, it is smaller and its
back is hollow. Because the chair was favored by scholars, southerners also call
it scholarly chair ¡¢¡¢¡¢ |
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