Antique furniture, especially hard wood furniture, has enjoyed great popularity in China in recent years. And rose wood furniture made in Ming and Qing dynasties is probably the most popular of all. Compared with other types of hard wood, rose wood is in much better supply and is affordable by ordinary people. Today, we tell the story of one collector who has devoted his life to rose wood furniture.
"Collecting has improved my taste. Through it I have become better at finding the beauty in life."
----Zhang Hui, Furniture collector
This is the most famous antique street in Beijing. Many just wander here out of curiosity, but some, like this man, have the place mapped out in their hearts.
Zhang Hui, one of the keenest collectors of rose-wood furniture in Beijing. Today, he is up as early, as usual, to pay one of his his routine visits to some of the shops in the area. The search for " treasure" in these kinds of antique shops is one of the most important ways to find new pieces.
Furniture collector Zhang Hui said, "The days of being able to search for bargains in the countryside have gone. The high-quality antiques are now mostly kept in shops. It's wise to come and search these sorts of places. And new comers can learn a lot about antiques from the dealers. A great deal of my collection comes from shops, as well as from auctions.
Rosewood became popular for furniture during the Ming and Qing eras. Most of Zhanghui's collection comes from this period. The dark red wood has a distinctive appearance and grain with black lines running through it.
With years of practice, he has gained the experience to tell the genuine antiques from modern copies.
Zhang Hui said,"The most important feature of antique furniture is called "Pi Ke". Pi Ke are the traces left on the wood by many years of usage and exposure to the environment. Here this tea table is lighter in color because people touched it and cleaned it often with water. People hardly ever touched this part, so it is darker. The man-made slits on the furniture should be slightly uneven, smooth and soft, because the wood swells or shrinks at different times of the year"
