Antiques Collectables and Fine Art

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The material of fine wood furniture in Ming Dynasty is one of the most stylist parts of Ming’s fashion. Therefore, it is important to analysis the condition and history of the material when appreciating and judging the time and style of the furniture.

There are two major categories for furniture-used wood in Ming Dynasty: fine wood and rough wood. Redsanders, rosewood, messua ferrea, redwood, ebony, nanmu etc. all belong to the fine wood, and they are also being called as hardwood except for nanmu. Elm, beech and fir etc. fall to the rough wood category. Since the hardwood is firm and easy to preserve, the durable furniture are usually made by hardwood. Next, I will give further information on some famous hardwood.



Redsanders
Redsanders is one of the most valuable woods, which mainly grows in the tropical area of south pacific islands, and Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan provinces of China. Its woodiness is hard and heavy, which will sink as soon as being put into the water. There is no scar on the surface, and it presents black purple color. The tinge is deep and stable, full of classic elegance and solemn and quiet feelings, which is one of the most distinctive features of the redsanders. In the Ming Dynasty, redsanders was the favorite wood material among royal palace. There were lots of redsanders stored in royal palace through purchase the wood by certain officials regularly from the south pacific islands. In Qing Dynasty, redsanders was considered as the most precious wood. However, since the middle of this dynasty, the storage of redsanders was almost empty, so the furniture then was made of redwood instead.

Rosewood
Rosewood grows in Guangdong and Guangxi provinces of China, but the amount is few. The rosewood is divided into new and old rosewood. The later is also named as Huanghuli Wood. Its woodiness is moderate, undistorted and fragrant. Its color is a little bit of orange, and some of them are rose purple, with alternative lines similar with stripes of a raccoon dog. The sophisticated furniture of Ming Dynasty was usually made of rosewood. Since the natural texture of rosewood is gorgeous, craftsman seldom sculpted on it in order not to damage it natural beauty.

Messua ferrea
Messua ferrea grows in India and Guangdong and Guangxi provinces of China. The tree is erect and tall, and its woodiness is firm and heavy, with fine texture and deep red in the heart of the wood. The furniture made of messua ferrea, is durable and graceful. For the price of this wood is relatively low, it was frequently used for making furniture in Ming Dynasty.



Redwood
Redwood grows in Guangdong, Yunnan Provinces of China and the south pacific islands. It is hard and firm, whose woodiness and weight is merely less than redsanders. Redwood appears light red color, but it will gradually become dark red or crimson after years of oxygenation by the air. Some of them will present black splashes. Its texture is fine and smooth, and it smells a bit of fragrance. After Qianlong Period of Qing Dynasty, redwood was used for high rank furniture.

Ebony
Ebony grows in Hainan, Yunnan provinces of China. It is hard and solid, with fine texture and ink-like black color, which will not be changed in long time. The tree of ebony is small and low, and with a limited amount, so its price is very expensive. Therefore, the ebony is usually made for small-scaled furniture, like bed tables.

The solid-wood furniture of Ming Dynasty will become more beautiful as time pass by. The experienced furniture collectors once told us that, it’s better to wipe the furniture with cloth, in order to wipe the surfaced wax off and keep the filtered wax stay, which will make the furniture look sleek, bright, moderate, and elegant with primitive simplicity.

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