Oriental artifacts Chinese treasure you can collect

Press, 14 July 1987, Page 16

Oriental artifacts Chinese treasure you can collect

Collecting

with

Myrtle Duff

Ever increasing numbers of Japanese tourists in our city streets and the popularity of their country as a holiday destination for New Zealanders have no doubt combined to stimulate a growing enthusiasm for collecting things Japanese. For those tempted to collect artifacts of the Orient it may be wise to reflect on what is available from Japan’s giant, next-door neighbour. Covering a vast area of the earth’s surface, inhabited for many centuries by millions of industrious, talented people with a miscellany of cultures, China contains an almost inexhaustable supply of everyday objects and luxury items of sufficient

interest and variety to gladden the heart of any collector. Discerning and dedicated collectors have always sought and treasured such things as jade, porcelain, ivories, and paintings. These are usually expensive, and not easy to come by in New Zealand. If you are prepared to make sacrifices for your hobby and face a long wait for that special piece, spend time inspecting the fine examples at the Canterbury Museum and watch for the occasional auction when some other collector’s treasures are put up for sale. Fortunately for the rest of us there are many things of humbler origin

available which will provide a rewarding collection. Ginger jars, for instance, come in great variety. Except for rare pieces such as the small jar with a red enamelled pattern on brown crackle glaze in the Oriental Hall at the Canterbury Museum, are not too expensive. You can even buy con-

temporary jars at your local super-market. They have attractive decoration and the added advantage of being complete with their delicious original contents. Not available in city shops but still sometimes

found in deserted gold fields; in suburban junk shops, and at the annual Old Bottle Show are the so-called “Chinese Whisky Jars.” No-one seems certain what they originally contained, but they have a good shape and are well glazed. A little higher up the scale are interesting examples of things familiar through the centuries in ordinary Chinese domestic life. At Victoria Antiques at the Clock Tower corner I found the red lacquered tray illustrated. It is decorated in gold relief and has a twisted cane edge. Porcelain, probably China’s greatest gift to the world, is well known and keenly collected. It comes in unlimited variety from the pale, crackle glazed celadon and the rich colours of the “Thousand Flowers” design to the übiquitous blue and white. The latter was used everywhere throughout Japan and China, ,and from the seventeenth century on, was the inspiration for the now famous English versions. The black leather stacking box also illustrated is available at Garden City Antiques in Merivale. Actually in three sections, it appears as one box and is decorated as a whole, gold floral designs on a black background cover three sides and a poem is inscribed in gold characters on the back. The top has a coloured floral design on a gold background. From this shop too is the fine porcelain teapot complete with wicker carrying basket, well padded for safe carrying

and to provide insulation. I have heard that the tea remains hot for about three hours in such a basket. This was probably for home use, but could have been used for picnics which were very popular with the Chinese. Many special picnic boxes have been made and are sometimes to be found in local shops. At “Antique Chairs and Things,” also in Merivale, I noticed the fascinating little object which at first glance appears to be an unusually shaped small saucepan, but is actually a charcoal iron. The bottom is worn beautifully smooth with much use and the sides have a raised decorative pattern, now a typically bronze green. At the end of the short handle is an intricately designed ivory decoration. The two pairs of Chinese poker chips, converted for use as earrings, appear in the same shop. The fish ones are of bone, and the others of finely carved mother-of-pearl. These are acceptable gifts for friends who like wearing ear-rings, or just collecting Chinese things. Chinese furniture was introduced into Britain at about the same time as porcelain, but perhaps not so widely used throughout the country. Its instant popularity induced English cabinet-makers to make copies, and very soon what was known as “Chinese-style” furniture became all the rage. Although the English workmen made excellent copies which still command high prices today, they were never able to

master the special techniques of the Chinese. David Ho, an expert in this field, explained in a New South Wales publication that the Chinese often employed two or more species of wood in making one article. This led to difficulties as different woods react at varying speeds of expansion and contraction in response to climatic changes. To overcome this Chinese joiners invented a mitred mortise-and-tenon join which, combined with a tongue and groove frame, allowed panels to move freely and when fitted secured every piece in its proper position without the use of nails or glue. Mr Ho maintains that this complex joinery is indigenous to China, and has never been used in any other country. It is therefore an infallible method of ascertaining whether or not a Chinastyle article was actually made in China. I feel sure that no selfrespecting British or New Zealand cabinet-maker would use nails in making fine furniture, but they certainly do have recourse to glue. If you are looking for Chinese furniture you may find a piece from time to time at Garden City Antiques, and Ross Morrison sometimes brings back some Chinese pieces acquired during his travels in Japan.