Fig. 38 Traveling apothecary’s chest, huanghuali, seventeeth or eighteenth century, on top of a flush-sided corner leg table with humpback stretchers, huanghuali with a burl and marquetry top, seventeenth century. Beneath the table is a collection of armrests and stands. Private collection, Singapore.
Fig. 39 One man’s vernacular is another man’s treasure. This pairing of furniture is from the Tianjin home of dealer Cola Ma.
Style
Style is a difficult measure: after all, one man’s treasure is another man’s kitsch. Important collectors, however, agree that the most important criterion when assessing furniture is spatial equilibrium or proportion. The book of Lu Ban, the Lu Ban Jing, refers to yin and yang: balancing the dynamism and rhythm of lines generated by the convergence of legs, aprons, doors and spandrels with the quiet, open spaces between. Whether a piece of furniture is graceful, with elongated proportions, or squat and heavy, can be a decisive factor in determining its worth.
Is the beauty we find in certain proportions entirely subjective, or are we genetically programmed to prefer certain spatial relationships? The Golden Mean theory of architecture suggests that there is a close relationship between intuitive perception and reasoned mathematical ratios, and knowledge of these proportional systems is essential to the appreciation of art and nature. The Golden Mean has been calculated to be 1.61. Therefore, if the universal system of beauty exists, then a plain table 35 inches (90 cm) high should be about 57 inches (144 cm) in length—not unlike the proportions of many of the good Ming-style tables. The measurement of beauty, of course, is far more complex and must take joinery, spandrels, weight of timber and aprons into account. But it does provide some insight into why the austere, clean lines of the Ming style are generally preferred over the weightier, decorated designs favored by the Qing.
Wood
The type of wood used in a piece of furniture can also dramatically influence an appraisal. Hardwoods such as huanghuali, hongmu, zitan and jichimu—most of which were imported into China—are coveted by collectors. Further down the ladder are the indigenous softwoods such as baimu (cypress), yumu (northern elm), nanmu (which is related to the evergreen laurel family), hetaomu (walnut), huaimu (locust), changmu (camphor) and taomu (pear).
At least thirty-five important hard-woods and softwoods are used in Chinese furniture, and what may appear to be a straightforward classification system is not. Many of the varieties of trees culled for furniture no longer exist, making the scientific or botanical nomenclature of these species ambiguous. (While there was once a very good record and sample of each wood in the imperial library, according to Chan Rong, all these samples seemed to have disappeared during the Japanese aggression.) As a result, Chinese furniture is still identified by its old Chinese names, names which were assigned on the basis of aromatic quality, color and grain patterns. It is likely that many genera and species were grouped together if they displayed similar characteristics such as smell and grain. In fact, it appears that even timber from the same tree might have been marketed under different names depending on the cut (see pages 34–5).
Fig. 40 Square stool with articulated legs and spandrels carved with cloud scrolls, zitan and nanmu burl, eighteenth century, Jiangnan region. By viewing the spandrel and the carving of the upper leg as a whole, the shape looks like a taotie mask found in bronzes, according to scholars such as Curtis Evarts. Zitan wood furniture like this became popular during the eighteenth century.
Although much attention is paid to the hardwoods, the current hierarchy that separates hardwood and softwood did not exist during the Ming dynasty. The first treatise on furniture construction does not make the distinction and categorizes many of them under the general term zamu or miscellaneous. Only two kinds of softwood—nanmu and changmu—are mentioned in connection with furniture manufacturing. Early carpenters frequently mixed wood types during construction, using elm or locust for the sturdy frames and saving the fine-grained woods for decorative panels.
Tastes also changed over the years. Zitan was coveted by Qing-dynasty emperors, but by the end of the Qianlong dynasty supplies had dwindled. Zitan was in such demand that old pieces of furniture were recycled and zitan veneers were added to furniture made in the late Qing (Fig. 40). The first Western collectors were not particularly enamored of the dense, purple grain of zitan. They preferred the distinctive grain and mellow colors of hardwoods like huanghuali and collected it almost exclusively. Zitan, however, has made a comeback. At Christie’s Hong Kong auction in July 2003, a set of zitan screens was sold for a record price (see Fig. 365, page 147).
Are huanghuali and zitan overrated? Dealers like Cola Ma would argue yes. “I don’t think huanghuali is everything,” he says. “The history and workmanship are more important than the material.” To be a huanghuali snob means losing many good opportunities to really know Chinese furniture.
Fig. 41 One of a set of eight doorways bearing images of the Eight Immortals that lead into small bedrooms in Cheng Zhi Tang or “Hall of Inheriting Ambition,” built in 1855 in Hongcun village, Anhui. Like other Qing-period Huizhou-style houses, a plain exterior provides no clues to the intricately carved hardwoods in the interior of such houses.
Types of Wood
Dozens of species of trees that were indigenous to China were used for making furniture, although only about fifteen species commonly occur. Regional identity and wood variety often go hand in hand. For example, kang tables from Mongolia were often made of pine. In Sichuan province, fine furniture was very often crafted from the red bean tree. Much of the walnut furniture can be attributed to Shanxi region. However, luxury hardwood, now coveted by collectors, was generally imported from Thailand and Vietnam. Identification of wood varieties in Chinese furniture is difficult, in part because wood was classified by visual means and there is no botanical consistency. For example, wood classified as huanhli may come from any of a variety of different species.
Fig. 42 The deep grain pattern of this locust wood specimen gives clues to the age of the furniture.
Baimu, cypress or cedar (Cupressus L.) wood has a strong fragrance. It is slow to dry but highly resistant to rot and insect damage. It was categorized as a “miscellaneous softwood” during the Song dynasty. There are several cypress varieties in China. Weeping cypress from Sichuan province, which can reach two meters in diameter, is highly regarded for its timber.
Changmu or camphor (Cinnamomum camphora) ranges from a yellowish sand color to a warm yellow brown. It is not a popular choice for furniture production because it is easily bruised, but it is frequently used to make storage chests because its distinctive smell makes it resistant to insects.
Heitanmu is a very heavy, almost black wood derived from heartwood. Because of its hardness, it is normally used only for select items like knife handles or cabinet details.
Hetaomu or walnut looks a little like nanmu but its texture is more open-grained. It was usually sourced in Shanxi province and used on pieces with refined workmanship. There are several kinds of walnut. The true walnut, which is cultivated in the north, is reddish brown with a dark striated pattern. Manchurian walnut, also found in the north, has a lower density and is somewhat lighter in color.
Hongmu or blackwood resembles zitan but lacks its lustrous surface and unusual grain. There are no early references to hongmu although much of the dark Qing furniture from the south is made of it. Some varieties are virtually indistinguishable from huanghuali.
Huaimu or Chinese locust (Robinia pseudoacacia