TK Asian Antiquities has for decades been recognized as having one of the largest and best selections of genuine 18th and 19th century Chinese furniture in America. Although, while not as extensive a selection, we do have numerous other furniture pieces which do not fall within those periods. Our collection includes imported and domestic hardwoods, but focuses on the more commonly used domestic furniture woods such as elm and cedar. Stylistically, we specialize in classic Chinese furniture that is often referred to as "scholars taste," but we also have a varied and interesting selection of the more colorful "wedding: style of furniture that was more popular in the southern part of China. To illustrate the completeness of our offerings we also have furniture styles, designs and techniques seldom found in China, including a high quality and unusually extensive selection of 19th century Tibetan and Mongolian chests, trunks and stands. While not technically in the furniture category we have also acquired many carved architectural fragments, doors and panels, many of which are from the more remote areas of China and more ethnic in style.
There are also rather specific furniture categories in which TK Asian Antiquities is generally the acknowledged as the leader in the United States, if not the world. The first is Chinese Art Deco furniture. These offerings are quite rare, as more than 90 percent of the domestic production was limited to one city (Shanghai) and for the miniscule period of approximately 10 years. Their quality is superb, with about 90 percent of those creations having been crafted in two desirable solid hardwoods, not veneered as would be found on most all western Deco furniture.
The second category consists of 17th through 19th century tables from Yunnan Province. These pieces have table tops that were mare with single slabs of burlwood, and range in thickness from 1 1/4" to 3" and from 2 feet to almost 4 feet square in size. This size generally requires trees that are 1000 to 2000 years old, and TK has actually taken to numbering these tables with brass plaques and keeping track of their destinations, as there appear to be less than 200 still in existence.
