Experts teach you seven tricks to identify fake imitation classical furniture

Recently, some netizens have reported that there are a lot of Chinese classical furniture counterfeits on the market. I hope that reporters can report on this matter and introduce knowledge about classical furniture. To this end, the reporter visited the Panjiayuan flea market and the Aijia collectibles market, and visited relevant experts on how to identify counterfeit imitations.

What is classical furniture?

The concept of classical furniture should include two aspects. One is the old-fashioned furniture with collectible value. It mainly refers to the furniture made during the four or five hundred years from the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. This period is the peak of traditional Chinese furniture production. During this period, due to the development of commodity economy, the demand for furniture in the society has increased greatly. Together with the opening of maritime trade, valuable hardwoods produced in Hainan and Nanyang have been imported into the interior. Craftsmen can use hard and fine, elegant colors and patterns. Gorgeous precious wood, the production of a large number of well-crafted furniture, so that some furniture has been passed down to the present. However, this part of the furniture already has the value of cultural relics, so it is expensive. Old-fashioned furniture on the market is now collected from the public, and then sold and repaired. Some old-style furniture is well preserved, parts are not damaged and lost, and after technical treatment, the original appearance can be restored. Such furniture is expensive depending on the material. There are only some parts, such as only the desktop part is genuine, repaired, re-made with the legs and other components, these two parts of the furniture have a collection value. Because of the scarcity of raw materials, the number of old furniture acquired from the private sector is getting less and less, and one piece is sold, so the old-style furniture is only rising or not falling. The other is to imitate Ming-style furniture. It is a modern technical worker who inherits the furniture making process, production and sales of furniture since the Ming and Qing Dynasties. However, such classical furniture should also be made of good materials, so the price is very high. expensive.

Why is Ming furniture the most easily copied?

Judging from the two classical furniture collection markets visited by reporters, the phenomenon of imitation of Ming-style furniture is the most serious. So why do counterfeiters prefer to copy Ming-style furniture? First, due to the age, there are not many furniture left in the Ming Dynasty. Chinese classical furniture has finally reached its peak from the mid-Ming Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty (15th-17th century). This period was called "the golden age of Chinese classical furniture."

At that time, due to the convenience of transportation, a large number of imported hardwood wood materials such as red sandalwood, rosewood and mahogany were loved by the upper society and the literati. Among them, the bright and beautiful rosewood became the material of choice for making high-end furniture. Domestically produced wood such as ironwood, eucalyptus, northern Korean rosewood, walnut wood and other large quantities of wood are widely used. In addition, there are boxwood and eucalyptus for decoration and eucalyptus for the cabinet. They are widely used in the decoration, such as embossing, enamel carving and various curved lines. They are both rich and restrained, making the furniture of this period soft and soft, and the exquisiteness in the scouring. White copper hinges, handles, fasteners or other accessories just add an effective decorative effect to the furniture and complement the color.

The so-called things are rare, whether for collectors or users, the ability to have a Ming furniture is considered a great asset. In addition, from the Hong Kong Guardian Auctions and the Sotheby's auction house in the United Kingdom, the news that the price of Ming style furniture auctions has been hitting record highs is one of the reasons for the proliferation of Ming style furniture.

As the collection of classical furniture continues to heat up, Chinese classical home elements are popular. Amoy "old furniture" seems to have become a trend, an investment. However, ancient furniture, like other cultural relics, has a falsification phenomenon, and the method of making fakes is becoming more and more sophisticated. The following are the seven methods for identifying fake products introduced by the experts for your reference.

1. See if the patina is natural. Generally, in the position that the user's hand often touches, a naturally formed patina will appear. The new imitation of the patina is either unnatural or made in places that are not often touched.

2. Look at the legs and feet of the furniture for signs of fading and dampness. In the wet areas of the South, furniture is usually placed directly on the mud, which can happen for a long time.

3. Look at the floor and drawer of the furniture. For example, the old table and the boring cabinet, the bottom plate and the drawer board have an old-fashioned look. There are also matte black lacquers, but there is absolutely no fire. Then look at the drawer side panels, there should be chamfered lines on the sides to avoid hurting your hands. It is also very important to see that the blink of an eye is square, and the tip of the skull is locked. If you see two round eyes in the blink of an eye, it means that it is machined, and it must be a new imitation.

4, look at the wood grain. Some furniture will have uneven wood grain on the surface, but if you look carefully, whether it is rubbed with a wire brush is correct with the original wood grain. Hard rubbed wood has always an unnatural feeling.

5, look at the traces of renovation. Some of the cloth chairs are refurbished, and the original chair ring will leave a dense nail hole. This chair is old. Some rattan chairs, the original vine surface is rotten, leaving the eyes of the vines, you can see them when you turn them over.

6, look at the copper job. If the copper work of the old furniture is original, it should be rubbed for decades or even hundreds of years. Copper jobs include face sheets, hinges, hinges, handles, wrap angles, bezels, lock faces, etc. Some of the better-quality furniture will also be made of white copper. It will be fascinating for a long time. . Some copper jobs will have a variety of patterns, such as animals, flowers, auspicious characters, etc. The craftsmanship is hard to imagine today. Some folks have very strong patterns, and they can also distinguish the regional style and the style of the times, thus obtaining precious humanistic information. There are also some copper jobs that take too long, although there is no patina, it will leave traces of rust, a little bit of green rust, or the surface of the board like corroded prints, these are the key to distinguish the authenticity of old furniture. one.

7. Look at the sculpture. From the level of style and engraving. In the past, when the furniture was made, it was put wider in working hours, and the craftsman's mentality was quite calm, finely carved, and round and natural. Nowadays, in order to reduce the cost, the new imitation furniture is often in a hurry, and it will be exposed in the carving. In the Chinese furniture, the circle is not smooth enough, and the square is not strong enough. The border decoration of the western furniture will also appear to cut corners.

For more information on the Chinese furniture industry, please pay attention to the official website of Xianghe Furniture City ().