Your Guide to Buying Chinese furniture antiques
If you think of buying Chinese furniture antiques, you must note first that Beijing is not offering the most practical prices. They generally follow the international price setting. For this, you must compare prices set by London, New York and Hong Kong dealers.
The major thing to be careful about is to verify whether the Chinese furniture antiques are made with the use of aged wood. If it is said that the wood is aged, reaching 80 years old, it must have properly dried. Thus, when winter comes and woods contract, its resulting separation will be reserved to a bare minimum. If you see a crack, apparently the wood used was new. However, some degrees of separation are often expected that occurs to the junctions of the panels.
The Golden Days of Chinese furniture antiques production is typically described as periods between 1550 to 1570. This was the era of great success. The transition from Ming to Qing Dynasty during this time also fostered innovation and creativity in the decorative artistry.
In determining whether the Chinese furniture antiques pieces are fairly priced and authentic, you will have to check the presence of five factors. They are rarity, craftsmanship, overall condition, materials and age.
Age determines the worth of the antique piece. The older, the more precious of course. The furniture has its own historical value whether it could be rare, exceptionally in good condition and have a wonderful finish. To determine the age of lacquer pieces, you have to consider its style, workmanship and oxidation level of the lacquer and the wood.
Lacquer and timber are the widely used furniture materials with the use of lacquering technique process. Other materials used are gold leaf, bone, ivory, pearl, coral, shell, marble or stone. If the timber is harder, the furniture has more value. In this case, huanghuali timber is the most expensive and the hardest. Pine is the least expensive and the softest.
The overall conditions of the Chinese furniture antiques are determined through its complete structure. When a part is missing, its value lowers. Craftsmanship is another significant factor to determine the furniture's value. Superb craftsmanship is usually made from elm wood. Rarity is a demand-and-supply issue. If the preferred style or material is not available, then it is considered rare thus the value goes up.
You have to note these considerations before buying any Chinese furniture antiques to use your resources wisely and make a desirable purchase.
