Posts Tagged ‘qing dynasty’

FURNITURE: MID 19TH CENTURY CHINA

WOODWORKING AND cabinet-making
were advanced industries in the China of the late Qing dynasty (1644-1912). Although most authorities agree that the best Chinese furniture was made before the 19th century, traditional methods and forms persisted well into this period of greater communication and trade with the West.
A PERIOD OF DISTRESS
By the mid 19th century, China was home to British, American, Russian, Japanese, German,
Italian, and French colonies. Foreign influence in China was further extended when, in the aftermath of the first Opium War (1839-42), China was compelled to open five of its ports, including Canton and Shanghai, to foreign trade. This number was increased in 1860 following another Chinese military defeat. Far from being a welcome addition to the cultural diversity of China, these foreign incursions were resented
by the majority of the populace.
More pressing matters dominated political and social landscape during this period. China was beset with internal rebellion, fat-nine, and drought – a series of calamities that conspired to wipe out 60 million people in the course of the next 12 years.
Western powers were quick to help the Qing dynasty during these periods of crisis, yet their primary aim was always to open up Chinese markets to the West to improve Western economies. Consequently, Chinese Furniture of the mid 19th century; although predominantly based on Ming and early Qing ideals, bore the
stamp of Western influence to a greater extent than ever before.
A MIX OF OLD AND NEW
The last years of the Qing dynasty, though troubled, did produce some fine furniture. A deep reverence for the past kept the traditions and monumental forms of the early Qing period in production. Concurrent with this, there was a general softening of the strict rectilinearity that had previously characterized Chinese furniture. Rounded forms, such as spoon and horseshoe backs, began to proliferate, as did peculiarly European
shapes, such as the breakfront. Continuity came in the shape of plant stands, low tables, screens, and a variety of other forms that had been popular in China for many years.
Cabinet-makers continued to use lacquer to decorate a great deal of the furniture, although the quality Ming lacquer furniture was never surpassed. Three predominant styles of lacquer decoration date from this period. The most common were daqi, a thick lacquer coating applied to a paste undercoat, and ludqi, a thin wash painted directly on to the wood. Less
common and more elaborate was miaojin, which incorporated gold-coloured highlights on a ground of black and coloured lacquer.
Another traditional decorative element, the ceramic plaque, enjoyed something of a revival towards the close of the Qing period due to the work of porcelain masters, such as Liu Xiren, who worked in Jiangxi province.
ELABORATE DECORATION
The persistent admiration for Chinese furniture was due in no small part to the quality of the exotic woods
available to craftsmen. Hardwoods, particularly rosewood, were ideally suited to the profuse pierced and carved decoration practised by so many cabinet-makers. Huali, a type of rosewood, was found to fade to an attractive golden colour after prolonged exposure to light, and furniture with this hue became known as huanghuali during the late Qing period. Hard stones, either in the form of decorative inlays or inset marble table tops, appealed to the European taste and became staples of more ornate Chinese furniture of the period.
The export market was a prime source of commissions and revenue for many cabinet-makers, particularly those in the newly opened city ports, such as Shanghai. European markets demanded that this export furniture look as Oriental as possible, with the result that decoration that might be rejected as over-exuberant by the Chinese was carried out on some furniture purely to satisfy Western buyers. Intricately inlaid figural landscapes containing pavilions and other typically Chinese features are hallmarks of this new direction Liken by Chinese craftsmen in the second half of the 19th century.

INLAID LOW TABLE
This is one of a pair of rare horseshoe armchairs made of huanghuali, the Chinese name for rosewood. It has a U-shaped, bamboo form, a carved top rail, a cane seat, and a lattice splat. The top rail and legs have been carved to simulate the apperance of bamboo. S&K
HORSESHOE ARMCHAIR
This black-lacquered wooden low table of rectangular form is inlaid with mother-of-pearl and hard stones, depicting a rural scene. The image includes a pavilion and figures within a walled garden on a black ground. The table is supported on similarly decorated cabriole legs, terminating in paw feet.
ANGLO-CHINESE CENTRE TABLE
This Anglo-Chinese centre table is made from amboyna and ebony and has three drawers one long and two short – with dummy drawers at the back. It is raised on carved ebony
trestle supports, terminating in claw feet. The supports are joined by an ebony stretcher. Although it was made in 1840, the design of the table is closer in style to examples from about 1810. c.1840.
A cane seat is fitted into the rosewood seat frame.
The turned legs simulate the appearance of bamboo.
ANGLO-CHINESE SIDEBOARD
SPOON-BACK NURSING CHAIR
This Anglo-Chinese amboyna and ebony pedestal sideboard has a frieze containing two drawers. Each pedestal contains a cupboard door enclosing shelves, as well as a deep drawer for storing wine. Made in colonial style, the shape of the sideboard is Regency. c.1840.
This Burmese, carved hardwood nursing chair features ornate, pierced, carved decoration throughout. The shaped back has a deep, carved surround with bird and foliage motifs. The padded drop-in seat has a similarly carved seat rail and is supported on cabriole legs moulded as rampant lions. c.1900.
PLANT STANDS
These intricate plant stands arc, made of rosewood and have shaped tops with polished marble insets, The tops are supported on profusely carved frames and shaped legs, which are joined by stretchers and headed by mask motifs. The stands terminate in animal-paw feet. c.1900.
NEST OF TABLES
This set of four hardwood tables graduates in size, fitting one inside the next, making the tables easy to store when not in use. Each table has a tray top and a decorative pierced apron set above shaped legs, which are joined by similarly shaped stretchers.

Korea’s close proximity to China has resulted in a marked Chinese influence in its ceramic production, ev ident in both the forms and the techniques used by potters. However, Korea has also produced stonewares and porcelains unique to its culture.
THE SILLA AND KORYO PERIODS
During the Silla kingdom (57 BC—AD 935) ceramic production in Korea consisted of grey- or brownish-bodied stonewares of distinctive architectonic form. Tall vessels with hemispherical bowls on an elongated spreading foot were decorated with geometric
windows and incised bands. Bowls were decorated with punched circlets, small repeated motifs, scratched geometric patterns, and, occasionally, animals or humans. Drawing inspiration from the Yue wares of south-eastern China, Korean potters developed celadon wares during the Koryo period (918-1392). Even if some of the forms are noticeably Chinese, there is almost always a distinctive Korean feel to them.
The green glaze is of a subtle tonality akin to the colour of the famous Ru wares of the northern Song Dynasty. However, er, the sangam celadons, which are painstakingly inlaid with black-and-white clays, are unique to Korea. A wide range of objects was made, including large blossom vases, ritual water ewers, and tiny covered boxes. Porcelain was also produced, albeit in very limited quantities, during the Koryo period.
CHOSON DYNASTY (1392-1910)
Developed from the sangam celadons of the Koryo period are the robust and often crude punch’ong wares, a greyish-green celadon-type stoneware made for about the first 200 years of the dynasty. Production ceased at the time of the invasion of Korea by the Japanese leader Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1592-8). The wares are decorated by stamping and washing through with slip. Decoration may feature tiny repeated motifs, flower-heads, or scrolls. Korean wares are generally very heavily potted with a curiously sticky glaze. The greyish-green glaze is thin, translucent, and mostly crackled, and it occasionally flakes. Choson whitewares were made throughout the period; earlier wares were often plain white, although many pieces can be painted in underglaze copper red, iron brown, or blue. Bulbous forms, often with faceted sides, are characteristic of the later Choson period, as are pierced vessels such as brushpots, pipe rests, and waterpots.
Early stoneware
• BODY dull dark grey or brown; potting tends to be very thick, and there is strong tendency for the items to warp
• FORMS “architectural”
• TYPES funerary wares
• DECORATION pierced and incised; often geometric patterns, rarely figures
celadon
• BODY generally a distinctive greyish blue-green like the classic Ru ware of the northern Song Dynasty
• GLAZE of greyish-olive tone; usually irregular; frequently crackled
• IDENTIFICATION celadon wares were fired on gritty kiln supports, often leaving crude patches on the underside of the foot-rim
• DECORATION the miniaturized inlay technique (sangam), using black-and-white clay, is unique to Korea
Porcelain
• BODY heavily potted; sometimes large pieces are warped or cracked; pierced and carved wares of the 18th and 19th centuries are very sophisticated
• GLAZE bluish or greenish irregularly crackled glaze
• DECORATION most common is the dragon; also cranes, tigers, and other animals
Marks
Most ceramics are unmarked before the late 19th century

Qing before 1800
Following the overthrow of the Ming Dynasty by the Qing Dynasty in 1644, production at Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province was severely disrupted until 1677, when one of the classic eras of porcelain production began. This lasted until c.1750.
BLUE-AND-WHITE WARES
Blue and white dominated the export market during this period, but these wares were not prominent among the ceramics made at the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen. Before 1800 Qing imperial blue-and-white wares tended to imitate early Ming versions, particularly from the Yongle (1403-24) and Xuande (1426-35) reign periods, with decoration that was carefully spaced. The designs on these pieces are generally formal, measured arrangements showing stylized lotus flowers among scrolling foliage. The blue was applied in imitation of the “heaped and piled” effect that connoisseurs so admired in the early Ming wares. Often the reign mark used on those wares was used again in deference to the earlier period.
ENAMELLED WARES
Enamelled porcelains came into their own during the Qing period, replacing blue-and-white wares as the focus of technical and artistic innovation. The technical advances signalled by the development of famille-verte and famille-rose wares greatly enhanced the decorative possibilities of the medium, while the body had now become so refined and delicate as to be the perfect foil for artistic virtuosity. Increasingly, the white porcelain was not so much decorated as painted in the manner of silk-scroll painting.
The famille-verte palette was first introduced during the late 17th century as a development of the wucai palette. In early famille verte the blue is applied under the glaze in the Ming wucai style, but distinguished from it by a generally brighter palette. In the mature famille verte, which dates from the last years of the 17th century, the blue was applied over the glaze and is transparent. Gold was sometimes applied to famille verte wares of the early 18th century. The designs on these wares tended to be detailed representations of nature, including dramatic rocky landscapes and flowers, or precious objects such as classic vases and items for the scholar’s desk.
The famille-rose palette was created c.1720, at the end of the Kangxi reign period. The palette is named after one of the constituent colours – opaque pink enamel, which was achieved using gold. The palette also includes Lin opaque white and yellow that made blending and shading of colours possible in a way that could not be achieved with the transparent colours of the familleverte palette. This gave rise to the exquisitely refined decoration seen on porcelain of the Yongzheng period, with ink-and-wash-style landscapes or
naturalistic depictions of flowers and fruit
rendered in a painterly style against superbly
clear white backgrounds. Among the most
refined Yongzheng and Qianlong wares are
famille-rose wares known as guyuexuan, which were painted in the imperial workshops. Some of these bear poetic lines or calligraphic designs, and they were copied widely in the 20th century.
MONOCHROMES
In this period monochromes were the ceremonial wares used by the emperor and had to be of the very finest quality. In the early 18th century copper-red glazes, which had been so highly prized in the early Ming period, were reintroduced. However, as a result of a longer firing time, these new colours are not as resonant and fresh as their earlier Counterparts, and they can be distinguished from the originals by the extra laver of clear glaze over the copper red. Copper oxide was also used to make the so-called “peachbloom” glaze, which was introduced at this time and applied to a limited range of small wares intended for the scholar’s table, including water droppers and brush rests. This glaze is characterized by the combination of a pinkish red and a cloudy greenish bloom, creating a colour reminiscent of the blush on a ripening peach.
REIGN MARKS
The practice of marking imperial wares with the name of a reign period was introduced during the early 15th century, and continued to the end of the Qing period. Either four or six (or, in very rare cases, eight) characters were inscribed in underglaze blue, and often enclosed within a double circle. In the Yongzheng period, seal-script reign marks became common, and during the succeeding Qianlong period they were the norm. Conventional script became popular again at the end of the 19th century. Reign marks should not be taken at face value when dating a piece, since it was common practice to inscribe wares with the mark of art earlier reign period, particularly those of the much-esteemed Nling period and especially of Emperor Chenghua (1465-87). This was not so much a question of fraud as of admiration for and imitation of antiquity.
The experimentation with monochrome glazes resulted in many innovative effects, such as the speckled turquoise and dark-bloc “robin’s-egg” glaze, which is thought to have been inspired by the Jun wares of the Song period. The “teadust” glaze is created when iron oxide is underfired, resulting in a mottled green on a yellowish-brown background. The “iron-rust” glaze is
a streaked reddish-brown with a metallic sheen, achieved by cooling the ware very rapidly after firing. The pale-little Clair-de-lone glaze was created by incorporating a very small amount of cobalt blue and was applied only to the most delicate wares.
“ARCHAIC” WARES
The Qing emperors, especially Qianlong, were avid collectors of antiquities, and many Qing imperial ceramics closely imitate ancient models. This is particularly evident in the traditional forms that were favoured, which include pastiches of early bronzes and jades and also of classic ceramics of the Song and Ming Dynasties; some wares were made using a combination of the two forms. The Qing potters also tried to re-create the glazes applied to the archaistic pieces of the Song period; these included thick, crackled glazes used on Guan wares. The Qing copies are generally smoother and shinier than the originals.
Qing reign periods Shunzhi ( 1644-6 1 ) Kangxi(1662-1722) Yongzheng (1723-35) Qianlong ( 1736-95) Jiaqing (1796-1820)
Daoguang ( 182 1 —50) Xianfeng (1851-61)
Tongzbi ( 1862-74)
Guangxu (1875-1908) Xuantong (1909-11 )
• BODY very fine white porcelain
• POTTING extremely neat with smooth, rounded foot-rims, the bases of bowls and dishes arc flat, unlike the slightly convex form of the bases of Ming wares; there are no visible joins on vases and pots
• GLAZES a wide range of innovative glazes appears on monochromes; imitations of crackled Song-period Guan glazes are found on “archaic” pieces
• ENAMELS many colours enhanced with opaque white and yellow in the famille-rose palette, permitting shading and more decorative potential
• FORMS small, fine pieces for delicate porcelains as well as imitations of archaic bronze and jade forms
• Di CORATION blossoming and fruiting branches
rendered in a painterly manner; emblems of good luck, such as the characters sbou (long life) and fu (bat), are often integrated into the designs
Reign marks
Reign marks for Shunzhi and Kangxi are always written in conventional script; for the period of Yongzheng they may be written in the same manner or in seal script; Qianlong, Jiaqing and Daoguang are usually done in seal characters; from the Xianfeug reign onward, marks may be written in either style