Ming Furniture in the Light of Chinese Architecture (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "To understand the commonalities between furniture and buildings, it is helpful first to examine typical structural principles of architecture..." (more)
Key Phrases: everted flanges, yokeback armchair, roundback chair, Ming Furniture Ltd, Golden Vase, The Story of the Stone (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

An ideal commingling of exquisite and often rare materials, perfection in craftsmanship and exceptional purity of line are what place Ming design, particularly in furniture, at the zenith of Chinese art. MING FURNITURE IN THE LIGHT OF CHINESE ARCHITECTURE is the first book to show the essential kinship between Ming furniture and the buildings they were designed to be placed and used within. Sarah Handler’s special perspective sheds a luminous glow on the concepts of interior and exterior form, function, placement, and purpose and reveals the inextricably intertwined relationship of Ming furniture to Chinese architecture. Decoration, construction, and function come together into a harmonious and indivisible whole, just as the Chinese artisans envisioned.

From the Publisher

* With 50 black-and-white architectural drawings and 60 full-color photos illustrating spectacular examples of Ming furniture from private and museum collections around the world.

* The first book to place Ming furniture design within the context of Chinese architectural intent.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press; illustrated edition edition (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580085598
• ISBN-13: 978-1580085595
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 10.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,142,636 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is an outstanding book , May 5, 2008

By	Rachel R. Munafo (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a beautiful & scholarly book written by an eminent art historian. The organization by furniture type (i.e. chairs, tables, beds, cabinets)makes it easy to use as a reference book. The text is beautifully written and highly informative, filled with quotations & poems about Chinese culture and history. This is not a text that focuses only on cabinet-making. It explains the relationship between Chinese architecture & furniture. The photographs are not only beautiful, they also illustrate & expand upon the text in that they include current photos of furniture as well as historical paintings & illustrations showing the context for the objects. The book has an index, bibliography, and endnotes. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Chinese art & architecture.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mortise and Tenon, July 28, 2006

By	B. E. Newland "BEN" (St.Thomas, Virgin Islands.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Being a fan of Sarah Handler, its easy to feel the furniture flow through the Ming Architecture.
Just having retured from China and Tibet, this book was in the back of my mind as I stood and gazed up at the columns and beams mortised and tenoned together to form the typical Chinese structural backbone. Sarah has made the connection between the structural engineering of Ming/Qing building skills and the master carpenters' use of the Lu Bang Jin manual that describes appropriate and propitious use of shapes,materials, orientation and all things lucky in architecture. Buy this book and you will be happy,have prosperity and long life!
BEN

8 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars disappointing analysis of furniture and architecture, July 28, 2005

By	mdr "mdr" (4points) - See all my reviews

chinese furniture have a strong relationship with architecture, in its proportion, construction, and relationship to the space. I was looking forward to see a more detailed analysis of such relationship but this book turned out to be a mediocre repetition of numerous chinese furniture books already in the market. Many of the pictures are from dealer's photos or Museum's existing photos. The reference paintings are primary from Chin P'ing Mei or similar paintings which have been published numerous times by other authors. The sketch or drawings are mediocre. There are no measured or proportional anaylsis of the furniture to the architecture. I have returned this book.