Orientations Vol. 23 No. 1, January 199
Beautiful issue of this leading magazine on Asian Art. This issue features papers from the Dr S.Y. Yip Symposium on Classic Chinese Furniture and more.
For many connoisseurs and collectors classical Chinese furniture exemplifies a bygone era - the leisurely artistic pursuits of literati or a life of grandeur conducted behind the high walls of a palace compound. With its elegant lines and superb craftsmanship, however, furniture from the Ming and early Qing periods also conforms to the highest principles of modem design. In the last fifty years, its beauty, strength and durability have begun to appeal to a wider audience, an audience unfortunately often confused by the scarcity of information relating to this area of Chinese art. This issue of Orientations brings together a collection of papers delivered in Hong Kong at the Dr S.Y. Yip Symposium on Classic Chinese Furniture with the intention of making the latest literary and scientific research in the field more immediately accessible. From an analysis of the way furniture was perceived by seventeenth century book illustrators to a look at some of the ways in which the unwary purchaser might be deceived by clever reconstructions or forgeries, these articles will be of interest to the specialist and non specialist alike. Hopefully they will also stimulate further interest in these magnificent pieces, which according to Wang Shixiang ‘shine so brightly long after the the sun has set'
Papers from the Dr S.Y. Yip Symposium on Classic Chinese Furniture:
- Additional Examples of Classical Chinese Furniture - Wang Shixiang 40
- Ming Furniture: Some Examples of Fakes and Forgeries and Their Methods of Detection
Grace Wu Bruce 51 - The Novel Jin Ping Mei as a Source for the Study of Ming Furniture - Craig Clunas 60
- An Early Treatise on Furniture Making The Lu Ban Jing - Klaas Ruitenbeek 69
- Examples of Ming Furniture in American Collections Formed Prior to 1980 - Lark E. Mason, Jr. 74
- Appraisal of Ming Furniture Tian Jiaqing 82
- Recent Acquisitions and Projects of the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture - Curtis Evarts 86
- The Elegant Vagabond: The Chinese Folding Armchair Sarah Handler 90
- Book Review - Craig Clunas 97
- Report from Hong Kong 98
See images for complete TOC.
Orientations is a monthly print magazine published in Hong
Kong and distributed worldwide since 1969. It is an authoritative source
of information on the many and varied aspects of the arts of East and
Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, the Indian subcontinent, and the Middle
East, from the latest scholarly research to market analysis and current
news and is an essential addition to any art library. In addition to feature articles by leading experts, each issue includes sections on Object of the Month, books reviews, recent exhibitions, announcements, and beautifully illustrated dealers' advertisements.
This appears to be a particularly scarce issue.
Check out my other listings for additional issues of Orientations and other works on Asian and other regions of world art and culture for additional rare finds.