How to identify Ming and Qing furniture

First, the timber

The most important thing in the identification of Ming and Qing furniture is to identify the age. In different periods and regions of history, due to different political, economic and living customs and aesthetic tastes, different types of wood are often used to make furniture. Therefore, the materials used in some ancient furniture will directly reflect the origin and age of the furniture. An important basis for the value of furniture artifacts. Learning to identify wood species is a compulsory course and basic skill for connoisseurs, collectors, and enthusiasts.

Ming and Qing furniture have distinctive characteristics of the times in terms of materials. Therefore, identifying wood is the first issue to be aware of in furniture. Among the Ming and Qing Dynasties furniture handed down, many are made of wood such as red sandalwood, huanghuali, chicken wing wood, iron pear wood, ebony, and so on. After the middle of the Qing Dynasty, these kinds of wood became increasingly scarce and became rare treasures. Therefore, all the furniture made of these kinds of hardwoods are mostly the relics of the Ming Dynasty or the early Qing Dynasty. Although there are also imitations of such furniture for future generations, there are very few materials that are rare and expensive. Many of the traditional hardwood furniture in existence today are made of mahogany, new huanghuali or new wenge wood. Because these kinds of wood are used in large quantities in the case of increasingly expensive wood such as red sandalwood and huanghuali, the furniture made of these woods is mostly from the mid-Qing Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty. For example, Ming-style furniture made of mahogany, new huanghuali, or new wenge wood is mostly a modern imitation because the age of the material does not match the age of the formation. Of course, this cannot be completely generalized. Because of the records in the literature, mahogany and rosewood may have been selected as furniture materials at the latest in the early Qing Dynasty, and indeed many Ming-style mahogany were found in the south of the Yangtze River. Furniture, not a modern imitation, but a relic of the early Qing Dynasty, but on the whole, the emergence of a large number of mahogany furniture is after the middle of the Qing Dynasty.

It is worth noting that there are a large number of eucalyptus furniture that can be handed down from the material, because it has been widely used in the production of furniture in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and in the form of more consistency, many Qing Dynasty The mid-term and later eucalyptus furniture still follows the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, the generation of eucalyptus furniture should rely more on other characteristics to identify.

In the early 20th century, due to the increasing attention of Chinese ancient furniture, a large number of rare ancient furniture outflowed. To this end, as early as the 1950s, the relevant departments of the Chinese government formulated a policy stipulating that the five kinds of furniture made of red sandalwood, huanghuali, wenge, iron pear and ebony were not allowed to be exported. Certain rationality, but because it is too simple, it has caused a large number of precious ancient furniture of Wumu to flow overseas. At the same time, this simple rule of setting up a wooden height has also caused many fans to fall into the misunderstanding of fetishism. The non-five wood furniture of the main body of the furniture is regarded as “woodwood”, and even the over-selling and selling, and rarely carrying out collection research, is equally undesirable.

Second, variety and modeling

The varieties of furniture in the Ming and Qing Dynasties also have a great relationship with the age. Ming Dynasty chairs are commonly used in four-headed and official hat styles, as well as round chairs and rose chairs. Four-headed and official hat chairs were found in the tombs of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, in the appraisal, it can be judged that the variety of handed down armchairs similar in style to this type of unearthed chair should be considered as a Ming product. Some of the furniture that was released earlier are often no longer popular after the Qing Dynasty. There are also some types of furniture that appear late and cannot be made in the early days. For example, the round backrest chair is no longer popular after entering the Qing Dynasty. From the perspective of Wei Shipin, they are mostly made of huanghuali, and there are few products of mahogany or new huanghuali. Therefore, the round back chair that was handed down is basically Ming furniture. The Taishi chair with a solemn style and a large body is a representative of Qing style furniture. Another example is the coffee table. It is a variety produced in order to adapt to the furniture arrangement method of the Qing Dynasty. Many of the objects passed down are mostly mahogany and new huanghuali products. I have not seen the age earlier. Obviously, the coffee table is a variety of Qing style furniture. In addition, such as folding chairs, folding incense, etc., are new varieties that appeared after the Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty.

The shape of furniture is an important basis for the era. Many Ming and Qing furniture years can be judged from changes in shape and shape. For example, the armchairs at both ends of the brain, the armchairs at the ends of the armrests, or the armchairs at both ends of the brain, and the ends of the armrests are mostly the early styles of the Ming furniture armchairs. Late in the middle of the Qing Dynasty. Another example is the cabinet. The cabinets in the Ming style are mostly rounded cabinets, and the side feet are clearly collected. They are mainly decorated with various smooth lines and are not heavily engraved. After entering the Qing Dynasty, the rounded cabinets were gradually reduced, and the square corner cabinets were replaced by the flat sides, and the side legs were gradually smaller. After the middle period of the Qing Dynasty, there were basically no side legs, and the decorative carvings were also simplified from simple to complicated. . Even the changes in the shape of the legs and feet of the furniture can be used as the basis for the generation. Such as the legs and legs of the table and chair, that is, experienced a process from thin to strong, the table and chair with the former characteristics, the age is generally earlier than the latter.

Third, the structure

Identification of Ming and Qing furniture in the morning and evening, sometimes can also be judged according to certain components. For example, the backrest of the official cap of the Ming Dynasty is basically clean and without lines. The backrests of the official hats of the Qing Dynasty were mostly carved plates, and the plain plates were rare. Another example is the straight-legged shackles of the Ming-style furniture. In the middle of the Qing dynasty, the ankles are often used in the ankles. This is a very important feature distinguishing between Ming and Qing style furniture.

First, observe the junction. The main observation of the combination of ancient furniture is the use of enamel, nails or glue. Appreciation of furniture can be distinguished by the different assembly structures of ancient furniture and modern furniture. Ike’s principle in identifying the structure of Ming-style furniture is: “It’s not absolutely necessary, no wooden tip nails; no glue can be avoided wherever possible; no one needs to be restrained – this is the Chinese furniture craftsman. Three basic rules. In fact, this is also a summary of the structural characteristics of Chinese classical furniture. The ancient furniture has a delicate enamel structure. The components are not fixed by metal nails, but they can be up and down and left and right by means of 榫卯, and the thickness is straight and straight and the connection is reasonable. Moreover, the process is precise and the fastening is tight.

Second, understand the structure of the past. Because the furniture structure of different eras is restricted by certain productivity, it is not the same. For example, the furniture unearthed from the Tomb of the Qin Dynasty and the Tomb of the Han Dynasty generally have only a few methods, such as dark, transparent, and semi-squatting. The chucks appeared in the late Tang and Five Dynasties. The craftsmen were inspired by the opening of the large wooden beams and the curtains of the middle clamps. The rags were the common features of Ming and Qing furniture.

Third, focus on using tools. Puppet masters generally understand that ancient furniture is made of enamel and rarely used nails and glue, and the falsification is very similar. But no matter how clever the fake person is, after all, the tools and materials used in furniture of different eras will always be different. A closer look reveals a flaw. For example, Zhang Dexiang pointed out that the Ming-style rounded cabinet has a circular arc on both sides, which must be fake. Because the arc of the eye is from the modern eye-catching machine, it is also an important aspect to identify the furniture to identify the tools used and the techniques of modern craftsmanship.

Fourth, decoration

Understanding the decorative styles of different eras is an important basis for the generation of furniture. Different eras have different decorative styles. In terms of mosaic technology, the obvious difference between the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty furniture is here. In the Ming Dynasty, the mosaic technique was rarely used, and the mosaic technique in the Qing Dynasty was more developed.

The pattern on the furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties is the most important basis for identifying the age of furniture production. The decorative patterns on the furniture are the same as those of other handicrafts, and have a distinct era. Therefore, when identifying furniture, there are patterns on other handicrafts of a certain age, which is a good contrast reference. Such as the dragon, phoenix, crepe, grape, peony, wishful, curly grass and all kinds of auspicious patterns commonly seen in Ming and Qing furniture, it is also a common decorative pattern on various handicrafts during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Therefore, as long as careful research and careful identification, the identification of Ming and Qing furniture will be very beneficial and effective. For example, the auspicious pattern is the favorite decorative theme on the porcelain of the Qing Dynasty. The pattern decoration of the furniture in the Qing Dynasty is also the same. Many combinations of patterns must contain auspicious and rich meanings. Commonly, there are “five bats holding life”, “鹊上梅梢”, “planning unicorn to send children”, “Ji Qing has more than enough ""Longfeng Chengxiang", "Sea House Adding", etc., especially to the furniture of the late Qing Dynasty, abound.

It is necessary to remind the reader that when referring to the comparison, it is better to use the same subject matter, or close to compare, so that it is easier to judge the age and the judgment is more accurate. Reference materials can be used in jade, porcelain, red lacquer and other handicraft patterns, especially the decorative patterns of Ming and Qing architecture, often with the furniture decoration pattern in the material, content and form have more in common.

In addition, in the Ming and Qing Dynasties paintings and book illustrations that have been passed down to the present, there are also many life scenes and furniture graphics, which are more objective and realistic, and can also be used for comparison and comparison as the basis for identification.

Of course, Ming and Qing furniture is different from other handicrafts. Most of them have no annual money. Their identification is a complicated work. The above identification methods can only distinguish between Ming and Qing styles except for the specific age according to the pattern. Some identification standards are also for reference only. Because Ming and Qing furniture are in the material, variety, shape, production, methods and patterns, or follow the tradition, or deliberately counterfeit, it is extremely difficult to break the generation. For the identification of such furniture, it is necessary to conduct a detailed and comprehensive scientific investigation.

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