Beyond the Screen: Chinese Furniture of the 16th and 17th (Hardcover)

~ Wang Shixiang (Author), Malcolm Rogers (Author), Craig Clunas (Author), Curtis Evarts (Author), Sarah Handler (Author), Wang Zhengshu (Author), Wen Zhenheng (Author), Nancy Berliner (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

During the 16th and 17th centuries, Chinese furniture reached a pinnacle of exceptional design and meticulous workmanship. Beyond the Screen leads the reader on a journey that encompasses not only the evolution of these exquisite furnishings, but also includes the many literary, architectural, and visual contexts in which they were created. Alongside 64 superb color photographs of the furniture itself, numerous Ming woodblock prints and literary excerpts show how furniture was used in daily life-as everything from a lover's hiding place to a projectile thrown during arguments. A vital response to the West's increasing interest in traditional Chinese furniture, this beautifully produced volume is both an illustration of the aesthetic possibilities of furniture design and a fascinating look at China during the early modern period.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: MFA Publications (August 2, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0878464344
• ISBN-13: 978-0878464340
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,307,079 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fine Book on Fine Furniture, April 12, 2000

By A Customer

BEYOND THE SCREEN is an apt title; it describes this book both literally and metaphorically. Nancy Berliner and fourcontributing writers dissect both the life and furniture of sixtheen and seventeenth China in a work that combines art, craft and social history. My husband, an amateur woodworker, was fascinated with descriptions of workmanship and digrams of joinery. I preferred the sections that talked about the people -- both the craftsmen (usually anonymous) that made the furniture and the elite who commissioned it. But the focus point of the book is undoubtedly the photographs of the furniture itself -- some pieces which are classically simple, others that are intricately carved. Berliner comments at length on each piece. For collectors of antique Chinese furniture -- or reproductions -- this book is an absolute must-have. It gives the story behind the craft and makes sitting down so much more interesting!