The Chinese furniture is very specific in its style. The furniture is unique mainly for its delicate carvings, use of rare kinds of wood - elm, ju or walnut wood - and eventually the joining techniques that the Chinese developed. The Chinese design, which is linked to the Chinese lifestyle and culture, is often simple, yet many times accommodates sophisticated carvings, curves and lines. The Chinese furniture in our store is mostly represented by the Qing and even some Ming Dynasty period furniture. The Qing Dynasty, which succeeded the Ming in 1644, spanned until the year 1911.
Participation of scholars in the furniture design followed more elegant and natural feelings and helped to develop a cultural meaning of furniture. The scholars influenced the concept of design of different kinds of furniture like writing desks or painting tables, which were often used by calligraphy painters. And the scholar’s bed didn’t suit just sleeping alone, a bed was supposed to bring pleasant dreams. Bookcase, along with chiffonier and cupboard was used to store books, paintings, or different kinds of boxes and decorative items. Durable and precious wood, simple structure along with detailed attention to lines, curves and even the size of each piece were the characteristics of especially Ming period furniture. A name of a famous calligrapher or painter would oftentimes be printed at the back of items like a chair or an escritoire. Chinese culture is known to point out the inter-relation between human beings and nature. Combination of the scholar wisdom and the craftsmen mastery are reflected in the classical chinese design. During the Qing Dynasty period, under the growing influence of European styles, the furniture decoration was enriched by painted patterns, mostly Chinese characters, geometric patterns, or even natural scenes. Many times the paintings contained gold color. The artistic value of Chinese furniture is today highly appreciated and thus the value of this furniture increases.