ASYMMETRY

My friend Robert came to my showroom at the Chicago Merchandise Mart one day looking for a piece of furniture to be used as cocktail table.  It is a well known fact that cocktail or coffee table does not appear in the vocabulary of Chinese furniture.  Robert was quite aware of that and was willing to look for something that would work within his decorating requirements.

Very early on, we decided that we would rule out a square table.  That was unfortunate because there seemed to be quite a few square tables.  A square table is a very versatile in a Chinese home. Generally known by the name Eight Immortal Table (for reason still unknown,) it is commonly used as an eating table, or an offering table in a temple or shrine, or in a scholar studio or shop.  Most homes in the 19 century did not have wood flooring; the feet were affected by wood rot.  For resale purposes, these square tables were cut down to cocktail table sizes.   The next choice would be pairs of square or rectangular stools which come in a range of material and style, depending on where they came from.  Stools from Shanxi Province in North Central China are made of semi-hardwood, and they still retain the same form as their Ming Dynasty (CE 1368 – 1644) counterparts.  The style is simple but sturdy, perhaps a little heavy looking.  The stools from Zhejiang are lighter in appearance.  Made of softer woods, they appear to be sophisticated in form, and often enhanced with carved designs.  In addition, there are many variations of wood stools, from sophisticated designs made of highly priced hardwoods like huanghuali (yellow pear flower wood,) hongmu (a reddish color wood similar to rosewood.) to cedar or pine country stools. The third, though an unlikely choice, is the kang table. The kang table is seldom found in warm areas, though it is a staple in Northern China. It is used primarily on the kang, a heated brick platform in a home where the family sleep, eat and while away the long winter hours.  Like the wood stool, the kang table comes in a variety of woods and styles.  I have a personal fixation with small furniture and in my buying trips to China, I seldom walked away from this type of tables.  However, I do not have many, for bonsai enthusiasts use them to display their prized collection.

Do you like Robert's choice? Personally I was astounded by his selection. The confidence in his knowledge of interior design soon calmed  my apprehension that all things should be symmetrical, a convention that is deeply rooted in my Chinese nature. Take a look at the image – he has chosen a square stool with woven bamboo mat top and a long kang table in matching colors.  Although the two pieces are of unequal height, they work together and integrate very well in this magnificent room. Do you like Robert's choice? Please tell me what you think?

Chinese Accessories in Short Supply

On a shopping trip to my favorite haunts in Southern China two years ago, this ominous thought came to me as I perused through the merchandise offered by the local “premier” shop that specialized in antique accessories.  This shop purportedly combed the local markets near and far for fresh merchandise that came from the provinces.  They were known to be a magnet for pickers – small time dealers who collect goods in their own locale. What I saw were merchandise I had bought and sold from ten years back;  mostly I noticed what I rejected in previous years were still standing on the shelves.  These were not finely made painted porcelains, glass or enamel works of art, nor were they exquisite wood carvings that one expects from the glossy pages of a Chinese works of art auction catalog. The shop was selling simple everyday objects from Chinese vernacular culture of the last 100 years, refurbished for the marketplace.  Rows upon rows were red lacquer rice containers, tiered baskets of woven bamboo, vegetable baskets of woven reed and wheat stalks, tiered bamboo baskets, paper mache boxes, cake molds, and other utilitarian wares.  Our policy is only buy quality. Anything outstanding had “higher than sky price,” a very appropriate Chinese description I thought. As a result, we bought very little.

So what of my ominous thought – it dawned on me that the supplies of good antique Chinese accessories would come to an end.  For years, container loads of Chinese vernacular furnishings left China for the United States and Europe, only to be replaced with inferior reproductions.  It stood to reason that after the reign of Emperor Qianlong (r. 1736-1795) Chinese works of art went on a decline.  With natural disasters, famines, peasant rebellions, bandits raiding the countryside, invasions by foreign powers, the opium wars, the society in China was in an upheaval.  Under these dire circumstances, how could one think of possessing fine material goods? Artists and craftsmen could not continue without patronage. Unlike Europe, China did not go through an Industrial Revolution which gave rise to a nouveau riche class of industrialists who filled their homes with opulent furnishings.  Instead, the people of China had to endure two revolutions that took place between World War I and II. The Cultural Revolution that followed further depleted the remaining material goods.

The word musing means contemplation and this musing is my attempt to explain the lack of quality and quantity in the range of goods one perceives to be Chinese antique or vintage accessories.  Any comment is appreciated