Rosewood wonders attract collectors

Two cabinets made of huanghuali. Photo provided to China Daily

Hai Yan, also a huanghuali wood collector, says the auction offers a great chance for collectors to appreciate the beauty of the wood as well as the modern craftsmanship that makes the wood into art.

Tan Xiangdong, an expert on Chinese antique furniture, says: "The company has the largest reserve of huanghuali wood in China. The craftsmanship of their huanghuali furniture is close to that in the Ming Dynasty."

Going under the hammer are 29 pieces in Ming and Qing styles, a record-breaking number of its kind on auction. In 1999, artist Tian Jiaqing put six such pieces of his Ming-style furniture on auction, the first of its kind. Since then, the number of new huanghuali wood furniture pieces at auction is often small, usually less than 10.

Highlights of the auction are a pair of large cabinets made from one piece of wood and a long "horseshoe-legged" table. The starting price of the former is 3.6 million yuan and the latter is 700,000 yuan.

Lin Qingcai, president of the Fujian-based furniture company, says the price his company offers is lower than the market price and equals the cost of the wood. He wants more people to appreciate the beauty of craftsmanship instead of focusing on the wood itself.

Lin was born into a wood sculptor's family. His father's wood sculptures were placed at the Great Hall of the People in the 1950s. Lin himself was the first in China to be awarded the title of crafts and artisan master in wood sculpture.