Original Ming furniture is very hard to come by and can be very expensive. We are fortunate to have found a pair of small "country" Ming cabinets at relatively reasonable prices. Be aware, however, of the difference between Ming and Ming Style items. Just like with early American furniture, newer furniture makers took artistic license to modify the look of items and frequently exaggerated certain features. Shown here are three examples of cabinets. One is original Ming, one is Ming Style from the early 1800's, and the last is Ming Style from late 1800's. These cabinets show, perhaps not too well in the pictures, how the tapered sides became more pronounced over time. This is neither good nor bad, but shows how a beautiful classic style can be adapted. In fact, the accentuated taper of the large, late 1800 cabinet is well done because it keeps the entire piece in pleasing scale. If you are interested in seeing other pictures of these pieces just let me know. Tom

For those of you who are knowledgeable and familiar with export porcelain from Asia, this blog will be very basic.  However, we hope that readers who have only recently become interested in Chinese and Japanese porcelain find this helpful.

The subject of Export Porcelain is both simple and complicated.  Simple because its broadest definition refers to porcelain made in Asia specifically for the purpose of export to the west.  It becomes complicated because of the varieties of export porcelain made due to the tastes of the markets to which the porcelain was being shipped, the manufacturing sophistication of exporter, and the trading traditions and laws of both the importing and exporting countries.

Early trade between Europe and Far East Asia was restricted to overland travel via the silk-road through the current Middle East and dates from the second century A.D.  Marco Polo is probably the most notable trader.  With the advent of ocean shipping trade grew quickly and was represented by traders of practically each country in Europe.  Initial east/west shipping trade was dominated by Portuguese and Dutch merchants and then rapidly by British traders.  In each case, a single, large company was given monopolies for trade with specific Chinese and/or Japanese cities.  The English East India Company, for example, was organized in 1600 and created to control the commercial activities between England and China.  In Japan, although initiated by Portuguese and Spanish merchants, the Dutch East Indies Company came to dominate the trade through the 1600’s.

It wasn’t until the American Revolution that significant trade occurred between North America and Far East Asia.  The two primary catalysts for the growth of this trade were: a. the advent of the clipper ships that allowed wealthy businessmen to find lucrative markets for products in Asia from America and for Asian products (silk, tea, and porcelain) in the rapidly growing U.S., and b. the expansion of U.S. Navy and its influence on American trading policy.

So much for background.  In many cases the reference name for the type of Export Porcelain comes from the name of the Asian city from which the porcelain came.  For example, “Canton” came from Canton, China and “Imari” came from the port of Imari, Japan.  It would be nice and easy if this were the only designator.  Within some of these broadly named designators there are other names such as Famille Rose, Rose Medallion,  Fitzhugh ware, armorial porcelain etc.  Each one refers to differences in colors, patterns, glaze and firing techniques, and form.

We contracted Asian antique fever when we moved to Singapore in 1990. Poking around one day in Tanglin Shopping Center, a haven of antique shops, Tom spotted a pair of black panels on which figures of a Chinese Emperor and Empress had been superimposed. The figures were made up of many colors of carved soapstone. We'd never seen anything like them. We spent some time in the shop chatting with the owner and while we did not purchase them, they remained in Tom's mind. So I started plotting. I thought they would make a terrific surprise anniversary gift and the following November surprised Tom when he returned home from work one day and there were, hanging in our living room. Little did we know that with that first purchase of a Chinese antique, we were opening the doors to a new world of learning and travel that would some day lead us to open our own shop selling antiques from Asia. Sherry

Have you ever found an antique chair (or anything else, for that matter) that had specially worn areas? Perhaps on the arm rests? Or the lower cross member where someone rested their feet? And when you find something like this, you wonder “Who sat in this chair, all those years ago?” Did he/she have a family? Were they rich or poor? Was it the patriarch or matriarch of the family? These imponderables give real meaning to antiques. Whenever I sit in one of the chairs in our shop, I think about the people who sat in it and how their daily lives were similar or different than ours today. I guess these imponderables are what lead people to an interest in history. Having a real piece of furniture from their daily lives IN MY LIFE makes an antique very special. Happy Collecting! Tom

I had always been interested in crackled Celadon porcelain (more on this in another blog) but my serious "I've got to have that!" experience was with the black pieces of the Song (Sung in some pronunciations) dynasty of China. My first ever porcelain purchase was the black glaze jar with brown splashes on the right. As I became more and more interested I realize that this favorite piece was just the start and my tastes changed as I learned more and more about the subject. The bowl on the left is a nice example of Ding ware, one subset of Song porcelain. My study of Song items continued and I learned more and more about the Chinese culture of the dynasty: Northern Song 960 - 1127 and Southern Song 1127 - 1197. The real beauty of Song porcelains is their simplicity in form and color. There is nothing simple about their glazing and firing techniques, but the cleanliness of lines and color are very appealing to me. Tom

Last fall we had a fellow come in and ask,"Look, I have $400 to spend on something here. What do you suggest?" Wow, what a question. "Well, what do you like?" He replied, "I don't know, what should I like?" And therein lies the rub. Each of you have different tastes for food, movies, and a million other things. Its no different for antiques. The only person you have to satisfy when you buy something to collect is...YOURSELF. With this in mind, and following the question of the gentleman who visited Moongate in September, the first step is to find the items that please you. Second, gets prices. And finally, my suggestion is that you buy one item to start, but make it good. The proprietor will give you some ideas of what items will retain value better than others. You want to get the best item you can for the money you want to spend. Don't over spend!! Stay within your budget and you will be much happier. More to come on collecting.

Buying Asian antiques solely as investment is really tough. First, I would never purchase something ONLY for investment. Make sure you like it first. When investing in Asian antiques, please, PLEASE be careful. Only purchase items from a dealer who you trust and who has thorough knowledge of the item. Good dealers will educate you about the item and will admit to their limitations of knowledge. Also, do your homework. For example, compare prices for similar items. Be observant to chips, dings, and other faults. Usually minor faults aren't a problem, but know as much as you can about the item. Finally, be mindful of fakes. Modern day craftsmen are geniuses at making reproductions that even fool the experts. It may sound like we are discouraging you from buying expensive items. We hope not! Our reason for advising care is that we want you to be as satisfied two years from the date of purchase as you are when you first take it home. Sherry and I would be happy to advise you in this area. Just let us know if you would like some help.

The types of wood used in old Chinese furniture is as varied as that used by fine craftsmen in the west. Some are similar and many are different. An initial step taken to enjoy Asian antique furniture is to gain an appreciation for the wood used. One should first think of two general categorical uses: fine furniture used by families of high position, and vernacular furniture for use in everyday homes. The luxurious hardwoods used to make classical items include: Zitan, Huanghuali, Jichimu, and Tieli. These have distinctive grain patterns and display very rich and warm tones. For example, a description of Zitan found in a publication of Chinese Maritime Customs states “the wood is exceedingly hard and has a coarse, dense grain, and a bright surface. It is of a reddish brown to red colour, due to the presence of santalin, a coloring matter…” In fact, it can also be described as purple. Unfortunately there is very little old growth remaining and original items made from them are very special indeed.

The majority of furniture for everyday use is made from softer wood. I say softer because we include oak in this category. These woods include: Camphor (Xiangzhang), Catalpa (Qui), Cypress (Baimu), Northern Elm (Yumu), Southern Elm (Jumu), Fir (Shan), Nanmu (Phoebe), Fruitwood (Pyrus), Pine, Poplar, and Walnut. Walnut was also used for fine furniture in the northern parts of China. These woods have proven to be very durable and long lasting.

Furniture made from the fine hardwoods is almost always natural with no decoration whereas items made from the soft woods can be natural or decorated with lacquer and/or painted scenery.