2 minute read
post script
At the end of this attempt at a clarification of what is meant by the various terms and designations of exotic Chinese woods, it is only fair to point out that this is a difficult if not impossible task.
The importers and distributors of wood supplied to the carpentry trade in China, then as now didn’t use botanical names. They used descriptive names which didn’t necessarily apply to a single species of tree.
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Just as the meteoric rise in value of art objects ranging from Rembrandt paintings to Stradivari violins, has stimulated objective scientific analysis such as microscopy, dendrochronology, X-ray fluorescence, chromotography, so it will become necessary to apply some of these techniques to pieces of Ming furniture which are beginning to reach astronomical prices. The so-called ‘experts’ who claim to be able to determine a particular wood by eye are frequently deluding themselves and misleading the public.
It shouldn’t be surprising. The task of identification is difficult. The precise characteristics of a natural product such as wood are as much determined by the age of the tree, where it is grown, how the log was cut and where in the log the wood was extracted, as by the particular species. Incredibly, the anatomy of trees and the study of how they are constructed and function is an emerging science. Microstructures within the trunks are responsible for raising water from the roots to the leaves and also returning food to the roots. Other structures store ‘food’ within specialised cells and only the microscopic examination of these structures can definitively point to the identification of the species from which it came.
As always, the ultimate criteria are the beauty of the wood, whether old or new, and the skill with which it has been worked. Beauty is somewhat subjective but is largely determined by color, figure and chatoyance. We have refrained from using this last term as it is unknown to most non-specialists but it is an optical effect whereby adjacent areas of light and dark within the wood change positions as the light or viewing angle changes. Commonly seen in curly maple (and the violins of Stradivari), the light colored stripes become dark and the dark ones light as the piece is rocked from side to side. It seems as if the wood is alive and reminds us that fine wood is a gift of nature, worthy of respect and exciting admiration from whosoever studies it no matter what culture they represent.
