Qing Dynasty Furniture
Fruition of Qing Style Furniture
In the early Qing Dynasty, most furniture’s inherited the Ming Dynasty style. When Emperor Kangxi came to reign, the political power stabilized resulting to an improved economy. This lead people to pay more attention towards material belongings which increased the demand of decorative luxurious furniture. This influenced craftsmen and manufacturers to better develop furniture style and design. This is how Qing style furniture came to be and was well received by nobles and rich merchants
Designs of Qing Dynasty Furniture
The Qing dynasty furniture eventually reached the highest level and set itself completely apart from Ming Furniture. Gaudiness and sumptuousness were basic features of Qing furniture. They were usually heavy and sizable, exquisitely carved patterns. Some pieces were carved from head to foot and had inlays of stone, mother-of-pearl, porcelain, metal, and enamel.
As demand for complex designed furniture increased, Engraving became a popular form of furniture decoration. The engravings included auspicious character patterns to geometric patterns, scenes in nature with animals, mountains and waters, flowers and grass. Color painting, especially gold painting, were widely used as well. Qing Dynasty furniture had curved decorations and exaggerated shapes that demanded attention.
The classification of Qing Style furniture
Canton style Qing furniture
Canton style Qing furniture used no split joint which made it expensive. The design of Canton style Qing furniture was heavily influenced by Western cultural art, with various Western decorative patterns and motifs. The furniture were made by using only the same kind of wood.
Jiangsu style Qing furniture
Quite the opposite from Canton style, Jiangsu style Qing furniture was rather cost-effective as the use of split joint was preferred. The decorative materials were drawn from the famous ancient paintings, themed at bamboo, pine, flowers and birds, landscape and mythologies.
Beijing style Qing furniture
Most of the Peking style Qing furniture were made in the Qing Royal Workshop. As all of the craftsmen were from Canton, most of the Peking style Qing furniture had strong Canton style characteristics,