Author: Chu-Pak Lau Publisher: Hku Museum and Art Gallery ISBN: 9789881902382 Category : Furniture Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
The University Museum and Art Gallery at the University of Hong Kong presents Classical Chinese Huanghuali Furniture from the Haven Collection and publishes this informative edition in conjunction with the exhibition. Chinese huanghuali furniture is world-famous and, for the longest time, has been collected in both East and West. The fine selection displayed here shows both domestic furniture and scholars' items, such as brush pots and chests. In Ming dynasty China, traditional wood architecture and Buddhist thrones inspired Chinese furniture makers and, as trade expanded, so did the amount of hardwood furniture in the form of sophisticated movable pieces and built-in interiors. Ming furniture is known for its elegant lines and carved details. During the reign of Emperor Longqing (1567-1572) China opened its borders, previously implemented import bans were lifted and a greater variety of building materials became available. Consequently, during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911) the most celebrated types of domestic furniture were made from huanghuali and zitan woods. The elegant dark hardwood with natural shine is remarkable for the fact that Chinese furniture is typically made from solid timber, not an invisible subconstruction covered by a decorative veneer, as is so often the case in the West. The strength of each individual element of a piece of furniture and the consistent color matter, as every detail is exposed and the precision of the joints and the size and position of the dowels are all visual elements of an often simple and graceful design. In some pieces the joints are detectible and accessible, sometimes demountable, or else expertly hidden in the more sophisticated pieces. Applied surface finishes were generally only a layer of wax; no stains or clear lacquer seals were added to the dense and inherently decorative woods.
Author: Sarah Handler Publisher: Univ of California Press ISBN: 0520353331 Category : Art Languages : en Pages : 727
Book Description
Chinese classical furniture is esteemed throughout the world for its beauty, functionalism, and influence on contemporary design aesthetics. Sarah Handler's stunningly illustrated volume traces Chinese hardwood furniture from its earliest origins in the Shang dynasty (c. 1500 to c. 1050 B.C.) to the present. She offers a fascinating and poetic view of Chinese furniture as functional sculpture, a fine art alongside the other Chinese arts of calligraphy, architecture, painting, and literature. Handler, a widely respected scholar of Chinese furniture, uses her knowledge of Chinese social, political, and economic history to provide a backdrop for understanding the many nuances of this art form. Drawing on literary and visual evidence from excavated materials, written texts, paintings, prints, and engravings, she discusses how people lived, their notions of hierarchy, and their perceptions of space. Her descriptions of historical developments, such as the shift from mats to chairs, evoke the psychological and sociological ramifications. The invention of a distinctive way to support and contain people and things within the household is one of China's singular contributions, says Handler. With more than three hundred exquisite illustrations, many in color, Handler's comprehensive study reveals "the magical totality of Chinese classical furniture, from its rich surfaces and shrewd proportions down to the austere soul of art that resides in the hardwood interiors." Austere Luminosity recognizes Chinese classical furniture as one of China's premier arts, unique in the furniture traditions of the world.
Author: Sandra Lok Fu Chin Publisher: ISBN: Category : Antiques & Collectibles Languages : en Pages : 52
Book Description
Illustrating many fine examples, this catalog presents a treasury of classical Chinese furniture from five American private collections exhibited at the Craft & Folk Art Museum of San Francisco.
Author: Robert D. Jacobsen Publisher: Art Media Resources ISBN: Category : Antiques & Collectibles Languages : en Pages : 262
Book Description
"Produced in conjunction with the symposium Classical Chinese furniture and the built environment, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, Minnesota June 10-12, 1999"--T.p. verso.
Author: Grace Wu Bruce Publisher: Art Media Resources ISBN: Category : Antiques & Collectibles Languages : en Pages : 224
Book Description
This volume presents the amazing Lu Ming Shi Collection, which comprises 71 examples of huanghuali and zitan furniture and scholar's objects. Together they represent the golden age of Chinese furniture design. Beautifully illustrated, each piece is described by Grace Wu Bruce, with a preface by Jean-Paul Desroches and an essay 'Collecting or the Passion of a Private Obsession: A Commentary on the Lu Ming Shi Collection' by Philippe De Backer.
Author: Publisher: ISBN: Category : Furniture Languages : en Pages : 272
Book Description
Attracted by the form, solid structure, and simple, elegant lines of Chinese furniture, Mimi and Raymond Hung started to form their collection in he mid 1980s. Guided by RobertH. Ellsworth, it now includes some of the best and most interesting forms that became availbale to collectors, many of which had never before seen outside China. These two volumes feature 203 beautifully photographed examples with Ellsworth's observations on each piece.
Author: Chu-Pak Lau
Author: Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture
Author: Sarah Handler
Author: Sandra Lok Fu Chin
Author: 
Author: Robert D. Jacobsen
Author: Grace Wu Bruce
Author: 
Author: Shixiang Wang
Author: Grace Wu Bruce