Shipment part of Chinese New Year celebrations
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The Mosman Antique Centre has more than 30 dealers selling a variety of collectables to suit discerning customers, writes KEN MATHERS .
The Mosman Antique Centre has more than 30 dealers selling a variety of collectables to suit discerning customers, writes KEN MATHERS .
A NEW shipment of imported pieces enhances the collection of Chinese household antiques at Mosman Antique Centre.
The collection, one of the largest of its kind in Sydney, is part of the city's celebrations of the Chinese New Year.
Altar tables, cabinets, chairs and sideboards form the basis of the collection.
Smaller items include rice barrels, bamboo lidded baskets, baby baths and timber teapot holders.
Mrs Coralie Davidson, the centre owner, said many of the items were a century old, but until recently were still in regular service with their owners in .
"Some articles, such as wooden boxes, baths and bowls, have been stripped, but most have been just refinished to preserve the quality of the peach, elm and hardwood timbers used in them," she said.
"Peach and other woods had a special appeal to Chinese furniture makers, particularly for items with religious significance such as altar tables.
"These tables appeared in the 15th century and later evolved through various styles with the addition of drawers and cupboards."
Peach is a lightweight wood and tables made from it can be moved easily around the home.
The collection at Mosman Antique Centre includes a late 19th-century altar table from Suzhou Province.
Peach is also used in a tall, tapered cabinet from the Ming period. The cabinet was used by scholars to store scrolls and manuscripts and has been softly polished to preserve the honey- coloured character of the wood.
"As Chinese antiques have found increasing popularity here, there has been a tendency for some pieces to be overly 'restored' in to the point that they have arrived here barely resembling how they started out in life," Mrs Davidson said.
"We have selected pieces which are not artificially lacquered or too polished and which can be enjoyed for their timbers, form and usefulness."
One of the most intriguing items in the Chinese collection is a tiny pair of embroidered silk shoes of the type worn by Chinese women in the Ching Dynasty (1644-1911) when mothers were required to bind the feet of their daughters with layer upon layer of bandages to restrict their growth.
This was done because tiny feet were regarded as beautiful, and they enhanced the marriage prospects of young women.
Prospective mothers-in-law checked the feet of the bride to make sure they complied with the standards of the day.
The ideal length of a young woman's feet was three inches, or 7.6 centimetres. The cruel practice of binding feet was banned early this century.
Mosman Antique Centre has more than 30 dealers selling a variety of collectables to suit the most discerning customers.
Mrs Davidson has her own shop within the centre, Frivolities, which sells antique and estate jewellery and Australiana.
Dealers at the centre include Michel and Dawn Buffard, of Galerie Pigeonnier, a new tenant specialising in French antique and reproduction furniture and decor.
They have just received a shipment of delightful, hand-selected items from the late 19th and early 20th century in France.
Another dealer, Fritz Lintner Antiques, has Georgian and European furniture from the 18th and 19th centuries including a wonderful oak armoire featuring carved, panelled doors with designs of urns, traceries of leaves and doves.
"Doves were nearly always used in decorations to indicate a romantic marriage situation, and this piece probably belonged to a newly married couple," said Mr Lintner.
"The armoire has no hanging space, but instead has three large shelves.
"Garments would have been folded and placed on the shelves in those days because there was no need to iron clothes and hang them up."
Another interesting item in Mr Lintner's collection is a large watercolour-on-silk portrait of an elderly Chinese man from the Chien Lung period, circa 1780, a typical painting of someone's ancestor of that period.
Other dealers include John Hughes, specialising in the sale, repair and restoration of oil and kerosene lamps, and Wauchope Colonial Antiques, dealers in early Australian pine and cedar furniture.
A NEW shipment of imported pieces enhances the collection of Chinese household antiques at Mosman Antique Centre.
The collection, one of the largest of its kind in Sydney, is part of the city's celebrations of the Chinese New Year.
Altar tables, cabinets, chairs and sideboards form the basis of the collection.
Smaller items include rice barrels, bamboo lidded baskets, baby baths and timber teapot holders.
Mrs Coralie Davidson, the centre owner, said many of the items were a century old, but until recently were still in regular service with their owners in .
"Some articles, such as wooden boxes, baths and bowls, have been stripped, but most have been just refinished to preserve the quality of the peach, elm and hardwood timbers used in them," she said.
"Peach and other woods had a special appeal to Chinese furniture makers, particularly for items with religious significance such as altar tables.
"These tables appeared in the 15th century and later evolved through various styles with the addition of drawers and cupboards."
Peach is a lightweight wood and tables made from it can be moved easily around the home.
The collection at Mosman Antique Centre includes a late 19th-century altar table from Suzhou Province.
Peach is also used in a tall, tapered cabinet from the Ming period. The cabinet was used by scholars to store scrolls and manuscripts and has been softly polished to preserve the honey- coloured character of the wood.
"As Chinese antiques have found increasing popularity here, there has been a tendency for some pieces to be overly 'restored' in to the point that they have arrived here barely resembling how they started out in life," Mrs Davidson said.
"We have selected pieces which are not artificially lacquered or too polished and which can be enjoyed for their timbers, form and usefulness."
One of the most intriguing items in the Chinese collection is a tiny pair of embroidered silk shoes of the type worn by Chinese women in the Ching Dynasty (1644-1911) when mothers were required to bind the feet of their daughters with layer upon layer of bandages to restrict their growth.
This was done because tiny feet were regarded as beautiful, and they enhanced the marriage prospects of young women.
Prospective mothers-in-law checked the feet of the bride to make sure they complied with the standards of the day.
The ideal length of a young woman's feet was three inches, or 7.6 centimetres. The cruel practice of binding feet was banned early this century.
Mosman Antique Centre has more than 30 dealers selling a variety of collectables to suit the most discerning customers.
Mrs Davidson has her own shop within the centre, Frivolities, which sells antique and estate jewellery and Australiana.
Dealers at the centre include Michel and Dawn Buffard, of Galerie Pigeonnier, a new tenant specialising in French antique and reproduction furniture and decor.
They have just received a shipment of delightful, hand-selected items from the late 19th and early 20th century in France.
Another dealer, Fritz Lintner Antiques, has Georgian and European furniture from the 18th and 19th centuries including a wonderful oak armoire featuring carved, panelled doors with designs of urns, traceries of leaves and doves.
"Doves were nearly always used in decorations to indicate a romantic marriage situation, and this piece probably belonged to a newly married couple," said Mr Lintner.
"The armoire has no hanging space, but instead has three large shelves.
"Garments would have been folded and placed on the shelves in those days because there was no need to iron clothes and hang them up."
Another interesting item in Mr Lintner's collection is a large watercolour-on-silk portrait of an elderly Chinese man from the Chien Lung period, circa 1780, a typical painting of someone's ancestor of that period.
Other dealers include John Hughes, specialising in the sale, repair and restoration of oil and kerosene lamps, and Wauchope Colonial Antiques, dealers in early Australian pine and cedar furniture.
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