oriental furniture styles report

ORIENTAL FURNITURE STYLES

JAPAN | CHINA | TAIWAN | INDONESIA

ORIENTAL FURNITURE

ASIAN FURNITURE

FAR EAST ASIA

CHINA AND JAPAN

red colorationAsian characters or symbols

use of bamboo

due to globalization, Southeast Asian furniture became more prominent and appreciated

THAI, VIETNAMESE, INDONESIAN, JAVANESE,

AND BALINESE

dark brown in color

a lot of Hindu-influence carvingsome have Polynesian accents

Japanese Perception of Beauty

not limited to physical beauty

involves spiritual beauty, purity of mind and

refinement of taste

WABI - SABI

Concept of KAGU

KAGU =

HOUSE MAKINGSFOR THE EARLY JAPANESE, FURNITURES ARE ANY FURNISH INSIDE THEIR HOMES.

PREHISTORIC: Jomon Period

12,000 BC hunter-gatherer culture which reached a considerable degree of sedentism and cultural complexity

"cord-marked” translated it into Japanese as jōmon.

The pottery style characteristic of the first phases of Jōmon culture was decorated by

impressing cords into the surface of wet clay.

16,000 years ago-perhaps the oldest in the world.

Linear applique

APPLIQUE - ornamental needlework in which pieces of fabric are sewn or stuck onto a large piece of fabric to form pictures or patterns.

Pots were mainly used for boiling food and for eating

Nail impression

PREHISTORIC: Yayoi Period

Iron Age era dated 300 BC to AD 300.

appearance of new pottery styles and the start of an intensive rice agriculture in paddy fields

Techniques in metallurgy based on the use of bronze and iron were also introduced in this period.

Dōtaku

JapaneseBells

smelted from relatively

thin bronze and are

richly decorated.

used to pray for good harvests

ANCIENT: Nara Period

ZABUTON

is a Japanese cushion for sitting.

ANCIENT: Heian Era

classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185 A.D.

It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Korean influences were at their height.

The Heian period is also considered the peak of the Japanese imperial court.

Sitting Bed

Tatami MatsTatami mats are basically made of straw.

Also, tatami mats are covered by igusa (rush) and are edged by decorative cloth. It's said that tatami are effective in absorbing heat and moisture.

tatami are made in standard sizes, with the length exactly twice the width, an aspect ratio of 2:1.

Fusuma Doors

Fusuma doors are made by pasting thick fusuma papers on frames. Many Japanese rooms are divided by fusuma.

*A door is a fixture but if you make it into wall art then it’s a furniture.

Shoji Screens

Shoji screens are made by pasting thin shoji papers on lattices.

Shoji screens ease lights which come into rooms, and they are used as curtains.

Tansu are Japanese cabinets.

MIDDLE AGES MEDIEVAL: Kamakura

Silk Screenused as a room divider or can be bracketed on the wall as a painting .

MUROMACHI Period 1337 - 1573

Beginning of the Arts of Zen

simplifying everything

Table with Drawer

Rectangular Utensil Rack

Sliding Door Drawer

WARRING STATE Period 1467 - 1573

social upheaval, political intrigueand near-constant military conflict

Painted Lacquer Inner Coffin

MOMOYAMA Period 1573 - 1600

Final Phase of the Warring Period

Era of dynamic style with gold lavishly applied to Architecture, Furnitures and Painting.

Chest with Design of Autumn Plants

Gold Tea Room(Momoyama Castle)

EDO Period 1600 - 1868

economic growth, strict social order

Progressive study of Western Culture and Sciences

Daimyo castle furnishes

Reading StandRare Bureau Cylinder

Accountant’sCabinet

Tansu Chest

MEIJI Period 1868 - 1912

era of strong radical reforms

superiority of Western arms and technology in Japan

STEP TANSU (Staircase

Chest)

Japanese Cabinet Mixed with

Western Design

Kitchen Top

Wood Drawer

Taisho Period 1912 - 1926

Continuation of Japan’sRise to International Scene

Industrialization, use of glass in architecture and furniture.

Glass Cabinet

TAISHO FurnituresDrawer with Stand

Showa Period 1926 - 1989

Era of Enlightenment

Modernization in arts and design

Modern Table Small Table with Shelves

CHINESE FURNITURE

Throughout history, the diversity of culture has found expression in many directions, including the way people have designed and furnished their built environment. Design is shaped by many factors, including environmental, religious, and political circumstances. As these factors change, design reflect these changes while building on previous design theories and philosophies. Styles in design, therefore, reflect these surroundings and their foundations.

HISTORY

Records of Early Chinese furniture were inscribed on stones and stamp-brick • It reveals a mat-level furniture culture: either they knelt or sat crossed-legged on woven mats • Furniture includes: low tables, screens and armrests.• Kingdom of Chu: Minimalist and simplistic, bearing unique and colorful patterns & finely carved

decoration in relief and openwork• Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) to 2nd Century AD: Buddhism and foreign customs greatly

influenced high seating or “Barbarian” Huchuang seats. These folding stools/ seats were originally used for mounting horses. Another example of raised seating furniture was the low platforms called Ta. These were used by dignitaries and high officials.

• Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD): Stools and chairs were common among elites. Prototype of the Yoke chair as well as the Round Back chair.

• Song Dynasty (960-1279) : Wasted Corner leg furniture• Ming & Qing Dynasty: Furniture more simplistic and angular in form, it generally held minimal

classic patterns. These were carved from durable tropical hardwoods

MATERIALS

• BAMBOOCommonly employed go-to material for the construction of chairs, stools, beds, cases matting and screens. This the poor man’s material. Some were elaborately designed in packed lattice work finished with black lacquer and capped with ivory or bone.

• DECORATIVE STONEprimarily used as a material for top panels

• WOVEN CANEA special pliable stretched fiber commonly used for beds and stools using an under-webbing technique.

CONSTRUCTON & JOINERY

• enhances the connoisseurship of Chinese hardwood furniture. • techniques employed play an important part in the overall effect.

• The animation and harmony experienced when viewing masterpieces is often the result of a unity that lies beneath the surface—members are not only connected together to form a functional object,

• born from an ancient technological culture and developed through continuous evolution of timber architectural systems.

CONSTRUCTION & JOINERY:FRAME & PANEL

• more efficient use of material,• typical of most panels in Chinese

furniture,

• The frame is joined with mitered, mortise-and-tenon joints..

• This 'tongue-and-groove' system • secures the panel within the frame without glue or nails

permits the panel to float within the frame to accommodate its slight expansion and contraction due to changes in humidity.

CONSTRUCTION & JOINERY:CORNER LEG : ‘Waisted’ & ‘Simianping’

• The corner-leg form is self-descriptive with legs generally set flush to the corners of the top frame.

• The legs can be of straight, c-curved, or cabriole style; they typically terminate with some a horsehoof or variation of ruyi -shaped motif, animal claws, or scrolled foot.

• developed from early box-style constructions,.

• Tables, beds, and stools of minimalistic,

SIMIANPING

• long tenons are shaped onto the leg members penetrate through the aprons and into the seat frame or table top.

• simianping corner joints differ from those of waisted construction because of the greater apron thickness.

WAISTED STYLE

• retains architectural characteristics of the classical Greek pedestal

• decorative taohuan panels

were fitted to the 'high-waist' section.

• it became associated with the seat of Buddha. As Buddhism spread into China, so did the classical pedestal form.

• closely related to traditional post-and-beam architecture, commonly applied to the creation of stools, chairs, tables and cabinets.

CONSTRUCTION & JOINERY:RECESSED LEG

• This technique employs legs joined at points inset (or 'recessed') from the corners of a mitered frame.

• The legs generally splay outward toward the base, and are connected by various configurations of

CONSTRUCTION & JOINERY:BAMBOO STYLE

• employs rounded, bamboo-like members that are configured to

simulate the wrap-around and layered construction techniques of furniture made from real bamboo.

• the use of hardwood or lacquered softwood to simulate the construction of bamboo furniture was popularized during the transitional 17th century,

has its own logic and origins, falls somewhere between the traditional systems 'recessed-leg' and 'corner-leg' construction.

FURNITURE : PLATFORM

DAY BED. During the late Ming, some sophisticated connoisseurs preferred the archaic style of the box-style platform over the modern daybeds with free-standing legs.

• Low platforms, • used as honorific seats, • earliest type of raised

seating furniture to appear in China. Sitting platforms were called ta; the relatively longer chuang was used both for sitting and reclining.

LUAHAN BED• use was similar to the daybed,

• the couch bed (chuang, luohan chuang) is distinguished by railings, • more formal piece of furniture. • The development of railings may be related with the early placement of

screen panels around the back and sides of the platform, • which enhanced the sitter as well as provided privacy and protection

from drafts.• Bamboo was also a favorite material of construction for couch beds

CANOPY BED

• The platform bed extended with surrounding screen panels or tented awnings to provide night time enclosure. • characterized by a super structure fitted to the top of the bed, which was enclosed with panels and/or hung with draperies.• This room within a room provided private space that was further insulated from drafty quarters.• Four-post canopy beds

– common during the Ming period, were typically draped with fabric around the outside of the frame that suited to the season. – Pongee silk or thick cotton provided insulated during the cold winters; – gauze netting, provided relief was from annoying insects during the summer without diminishing the refreshingly cool evening breezes.– Silk curtains for a lady's bed were often finely embroidered with decorative and auspicious patterns.

• canopy bed w/lattice rails Curtains – drawn back during the day with curtain hooks, and the cozy cubicle continued to be utilized for dining, socializing, and other daily activities.

• Six post canopy beds – exhibit a somewhat more architectural style. – The curtains were generally hung on the inside of these beds so as to reveal its decorative lattice-work and/or open-carved panels.

• alcove bed – The alcove bed is yet a larger piece of furniture that fits upon base with floor boards. – An extension in front provides space for a small table, cabinet, and/or stool. The alcove bed is described in the Ming carpenters manual Lu Ban

jing.

STOOL• The stool was the most common and also earliest type of raised seating furniture in China.• Stools were commonly made of wood, bamboo, cane, root, porcelain and stone.• High quality stools were made of precious hardwoods or finely finished with lacquer. • those made during the Ming and Qing dynasties, only the durable or well-cared for pieces have survived.• In any early culture, primitive stools may have been no more than a block of timber or piece of stone.• its long history, stool forms evolved with gradual developments including foreign influences that migrated

from Central Asia along the Silk Route.• The practical stool filled both social and functional needs.• Large stools served as a platform to elevate one of dignified status. In formal groupings with chairs, • In casual gatherings, friends all gathered around to sit on stools without the pretension of hierarchical rank. • the multi-functional stool also served as a stand, step stool, low table and work bench.

FURNITURE : STOOLS

FOLDING STOOL

• the Han emperor Lingdi was recorded to have had a fondness for foreign curiosities, including the ‘foreign barbarian seat’ (huchuang).

• This term referred to the folding stool, which was commonly used by nomadic tribes in the more remote northern and western regions.

• Its use spread throughout China over the following centuries.• It became a popular seat for rulers and dignitaries when traveling or

cruising on a boat, and its lightweight portability made it especially suitable for officers on military campaigns.

• Travelers convenient carried them over the shoulder

ROUND STOOL

• especially popular during the Ming dynasty.• As a stylistic concept roundness and wholeness (yuanhun) suggest organic unity. • Unfortunately, because curvilinear components are easily broken, few of these

lovely objects have survived the vicissitudes of time.• Round stools include those with ‘bulging-legs’, ‘cabriole-legs’, ‘drum-shaped‘, and

straight-leg types. • Such stools exhibit sophisticated construction, as the craftsman is no longer

working with familiar right angles, requiring mastery in the calculation of circular and curvilinear geometry, three dimensional visualization, as well as special techniques to securely unify the frame, legs and aprons with structural integrity.

ROOT AND STOOL

• The tradition of gnarled-wood and root furniture stems from Buddhist and Daoist affinities toward the unaffected state of things and the natural world.

• Stone stools were commonly set out in the garden.

• Stone endures exposure to the elements, and provides a cool seat during the hot summer months.

• Stools fashioned from natural growth forms display beautiful eye-catching abstractions

FURNITURE : CHAIRS

OFFICIAL’S HAT CHAIR

• the name reflects the shape of the sculpted crestrail, which appears like a winged official’s hat

• The Chinese term ‘chair with four protruding ends’ describes the extended crestrail and handgrips, which may be truncated with flat ends or finished like calligraphic brushstroke with rounded or lilted ends.

• characterized by armrests and crestrail that turn down into the vertical posts. Chinese craftsman term this right angle joint a ‘pipe joint’, which reflects a resemblance to a smoking pipe.

ROUND BACK ARM CHAIR• By the Ming dynasty, it developed

into one of the most graceful chair forms of traditional furniture.

• are exceptionally comfortable for supporting the elbows and arms.

• In the West, the term ‘horseshoe armchair’

• The round-back chair exhibits the artistic aesthetic called ‘roundness’ or ‘wholeness’.

• Chinese cosmological concept of ‘round heaven and square earth’.

• Frame members shaped with a round section above and a square section below also express this idea.

ROSE CHAIR

• low height, small size, and angular construction with straight-member back and armrests.

• drawn from the traditional bamboo chair with its continuous frame members bent to 90 degree angle and lattice-work panels made of smaller-diameter bamboo.

• In Ladies quarters, primarily on the small size as well as the effeminate term ‘rose chair’ (meiguiyi)

• the straight backrest of the rose chair was not intended for relaxation like the ergonomic backrests of other traditional chairs.

QING STYLE

• appears as a large stool with separate railings attached above, differing from integrated construction of the traditional chair with arm and back posts continuous with the legs below.

• Many have no back inclination,• but are rather perpendicular and straight without anyvertical

splay. • The railings are often decorated with angular scrolling and/or

carved decoration. • these chairs have a stiff, formal appearance.

WHAT WILL BE THE NEXT BIG THING?

Han Chinese migrants began arriving on the island of Taiwan during the Ming dynasty, 1364-1644, and naturally brought with them the furniture traditions of the motherland, so that on the whole the furniture tradition in Taiwan mirrored that to be found on mainland China. What differences that did evolve chiefly concerned aspects of decorative effect.Taiwanese period furniture is not quite as grand and imposing as the produce of Taiwan's Chinese cousins. Nevertheless, its relative simpleness and unassuming air give it a beauty and charm that are ground in the craftsmanship and materials that formed its nature.Variations in style and use of materials arose from the characteristics of different areas in Taiwan, which resulted from the contrasting origins of settlers, patterns of development and local materials.

TAIWANESE FURNITURE

STYLE

History

Black InkMother of Pearl Inlay

WoodBamboo

TAIWANESE FURNITURE

DECORATIONS

Taiwanese Furniture Decorations

BLACK INK

on carvings, engravings and fretwork

"lucky" motifsnature scenes


MOTHER OF PEARL INLAYluxurious types of furniture

opalescent mother of pearl


WOODred cypress

Local: Taiwanese yellow cypress, Taiwanese incense cypress, camphor, Taiwanese fir and Michelia formosana


BAMBOOlight while sturdy

reflection of the identity of Taiwan in the natural environment

soft, natural lustre, does not require finishing

Classical & Traditional

Craftwork and Life

East-West Crossing

CHRONOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT


CLASSICAL & TRADITIONALMing dynastyTaiwan furniture mimicked Chinese styles

simple and elegant

Qing dynasty

Western styles

meticulously crafted, luxurious, and

extravagant


CLASSICAL & TRADITIONALlast years of the Qing Dynasty and the early years of Japanese rule

new style that was a mixture of Chinese and

foreign


CRAFTWORK AND LIFE

post-war years

traditional woodcraft was gradually replaced by Western modernism


CRAFTWORK AND LIFE

Local woodcrafts

ANNEALINGJOGGLINGWEAVING


EAST-WEST CROSSINGIntroduction of Western classical design

The development of the furniture-making craft today has taken a clear turn toward creative diversity. Craftsmen have begun studying design with an open and free mind, allowing traditional and modern, Eastern and Western cultures to clash, creating a spark of brilliance which endows Taiwanese furniture with the ability to meet the challenges of this new era.

INDONESIAN FURNITURE

Does not have quite as colorful a past, as furniture from some of the other eastern Asian countries

CHARACTERISTIC

It lacks recorded history, but it makes up for its practicality.

CHARACTERISTIC

It features excellent craftsmanship, carved with ornate designs.

CHARACTERISTIC

There are many different timbers utilized in the manufacture of Indonesian furniture, but perhaps the best known and most widely used is Teak

CHARACTERISTIC

Indonesian furniture tends to be made of teak, as well as dark mahogany.

INDONESIAN ROSEWOOD (Sonokeling)

PINE and DAMMAR

CHINA BERRY (Mindi)

MAIN TIMBERS

cut easily, has natural oil and water resistant

TEAK AS FURNITUREMATERIAL

PREHISTORIC ERA:TERRACOTTA

POTSFirst obejective of Indonesian clay pots serves as a solemn dedication to the all powerful being. The second one serves as a mundane purpose namely to please the eyes of other people in the society.

BATIK POTSTerracotta Pottery is covered with Batik fabric which is glued and lacquered to produce a unique finish.

WOVEN MATERIALS FOR FUNITURES :

Woven furniture - Organic materials such as Rattan, Banana Leaf, Water Hyacinth and Sea Grass or a combination of wood and all of the above fibers.

APPLICATION OF WOVEN MATERIALS:

SAKAGURUSakaguru symbolizes elegance and supremacy. It is characterized with Vocal Posters (Oneuni) and Crown.

INTERIORS

oriental furniture styles report

Education