Antique Chinese Qing Cinnabar Lacquer Carved Console Table

Details

Description

Size: 32in H x 30in W x 15in D
Origin: China
Circa: Late Qing Dynasty, circa 1900
Material: Lacquer Painted … Read more Size: 32in H x 30in W x 15in D
Origin: China
Circa: Late Qing Dynasty, circa 1900
Material: Lacquer Painted over wood
Condition: Original finished. Hand paint, hand carved, normal age wear.

This console table was made during the late Qing Dynasty (19 century) in Beijing under direct imperial control. It is very unique because you can't see more of this carved lacquer furniture survived from those period. The workmanship is superb. It is very rare that there is no too much similar furniture in existence, probably because it was too labor-intensive even for the court to mass produce.

Lacquer is the sap of a tree (Rhus vernicifera) that grows in East Asia. It was tapped, filtered and mixed with cinnabar to produce a red colour. The lacquer worker would have applied one coat of lacquer to the wooden core of this table and added another when the previous one had dried completely. Once a sufficient thickness was achieved the lacquer worker could start carving. In this case it is reckoned that 100 coats of lacquer had been built up in order to carve the dense design of birds and flowers. The drying process could not be hurried. Allowing one day for one coat to dry, which is the minimum, the drying process alone would have taken at least more than 100 days. So to complete finish this table could take years or works.

The overall condition are excellent - hand-crafted with exquisite detail. Minor blemishes due to age but definitely quality workmanship you don't find anymore today!

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