A Preliminary Study of Three Finishing Materials for Traditional Chinese Furniture

Xin You Liu, Timar Maria Cristina, Varodi Anca Maria

Transilvania University, Brasov, Romania.

DOI: 10.4236/ampc.2014.45011                

Abstract

The traditional Chinese furniture evolved as an important part of the Chinese culture and civilization. Alongside design, structure, ornaments, the original finishes applied define the particularities and value of traditional Chinese furniture. This is because wood finishing not only enhances wood natural beauty by colour, gloss and highlighting of wooden texture, but also can be a means of exquisite decoration (e.g. engraved, gilded or painted lacquer works). Chinese lacquer, Tung oil and Chinese wax represent some of the most important finishing materials employed and were, therefore, selected for this study. The paper presents a brief macroscopic, microscopic and FTIR characterization of these materials. These results will be used as starting data in a further study on the ageing properties of these traditional finishing materials, useful for scientific conservation purposes.

Keywords

Traditional Chinese Finishing Materials, Chinese Lacquer, Chinese Wax, Tung Oil, Microscopy, FTIR

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Weihua, Z. (2011) A Research into the Traditional Chinese Paintings (the Ruler Paintings) and the Ancient Furniture Culture. 12th International Conference on Computer-Aided Industrial Design & Conceptual Design, Chongqing, 27-29 November 2011, 1046-1050.
[2]	(2014) The history of Chinese furniture.
[3]	Liu, X.Y. and Timar, M.C. (2013) A Study on the History and Materials of Traditional Chinese Furniture. The 9th International Conference “Wood Science and Engineering in the Third Millenium”, Brasov, 7 November 2013, 256-264.
[4]	Berliner, N. (1996) Beyond the Screen: Chinese Furniture of the 16th and 17th Centuries. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 81-117.
[5]	Chena, Y.-H., Chena, J.-H., Changb, C.-Y. and Changb, C.-C. (2010) Biodiesel Production from Tung (Vernicia montana) Oil and Its Blending Properties in Different Fatty Acid Compositions. Bioresource Technology, 101, 9521-9526. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2010.06.117
[6]	Guan, C.Y. (1999) A Preliminary Study of Chinese Tung Tree Planting History. Ancient and Modern Agriculture, No. 4, 21-28.
[7]	Hang, J. And Guo, Q.H. (2006) Chinese Art & Crafts. China Intercontinental Press, Beijing, 58-64.
[8]	Greenfield, J. (1959) Lectures of the 1959 Short Course on Drying Oils. The Journal of The American Oil Chemists’ Society, 36, 565-574.
[9]	Da, T. (2007) The Inherited and Application of Waxing Technique for Ming-Style Furniture. Chinese Furniture, No. 10, 60-61.
[10]	Tan, G.H. (2005) The Raw Chinese Lacquer Utilization and Inspection. Journal of Chinese Lacquer, 24, 44-48.
[11]	Tian, T. (2007) Chinese Lacquer Art. China & the World Cultural Exchange, Beijing, 20-22.
[12]	Zhou, B.Z. (1985) The Protection of Ancient Chinese Lacquerware. Urushi Study Group, Tokyo, 71-78.
[13]	Pu, X., Zhang, X.H., Tong, S.L. and Xue, P. (2003) Study and Application Prospect of Modified Tung Oil. Forest Chemical Communications, 37, 41-46.
[14]	Li, H.Y. (2009) Scientific Research on Traditional Tung Oil Boiling Technology. Master Thesis, Shan Xi Normal University, Linfen, 22-25.
[15]	(2014) Vietnamese Lacquerware. http://www.3pl.asia/index.php?route=information/information&information_id=6
[16]	(2014) Tung Oil Tree. http://waynesword.palomar.edu/tungoil1.htm
[17]	(2014) How to feed wax insect. http://www.cndfilm.com/special/xhj2012/20130311/105038.shtml
[18]	Takayuki, H., Rong, L., Risa, S., Takahisa, I. and Tetsuo, M. (2008) Characterization and Comparison of Asian Lacquer Saps. Progress in Organic Coatings, 61, 68-75. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.porgcoat.2007.09.003
[19]	Michele, R., et al. (1999) Infrared Spectroscopy in Conservation Science. The Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles, 99-199.
[20]	Jin, Z.Y. and Chen, T.Y. (1985) Analysis of FTIR Spectra of Chinese Lacquer. Journal of Chinese Lacquer, 1, 1-10.