It's easy to forget that Shanghai had a great Opening Up long before the one currently transforming China. From the Treaty of Nanking in 1842 until WWII, Shanghai was the Chinese destination for making a fortune and finding all things western, including furniture.

Without catalogues, much less IKEAs, wealthy Shanghai ren would employ well-known gong guan, or "craftsman families", to fashion western-style furniture with local materials and Chinese ingenuity. Working off pictures, sometimes sketches, the gong guan turned out pieces unique to the Old Shanghai period. Wei Hengjiu is a passionate collector of Old Shanghai antiques, and was kind enough to tell China Expat about the following pieces.

Washstand

Approx. 70 years old

4,000 RMB

Even by the 1930s, only the wealthiest in Shanghai could expect a sink with hot and cold taps to do their washing up in. This carved teak and white marble washstand filled the bill for an upper-middle class Chinese family that wanted for piped-in water, but also a chance to perform its ablutions in style. The copper basin is missing, as are the towel hooks, but not the western carving, far less ornate than it would be had the piece been commissioned in traditional Chinese style.

Breakfront/Bar

Approx. 100 years old

450,000 RMB

2.3 meters tall and more than three hundred kilos, this teak monolith was commissioned by an Italian embassy official who wanted to give his residence a touch of old world splendor. Plenty of shelves behind glass for displaying his crystal goblets and sterling shot cups, and a marble counter for the requisite grappa. Besides the masterful carving, the glass is beveled, and behind the marble glazed in an arcane Chinese fashion since lost to the ages.

 Perhaps its beauty saved it from the bonfire during the Cultural Revolution, which it escaped with only its glass surfaces painted white, since scraped clean.

Dining Table [Also Pictured at Top]

Approx. 120 years old

130,000 RMB

A slight sag to the middle of this massive table reveals itself to the careful eye. Teak is a soft wood, perfect for the delicate shaping of legs in classic English style, yet vulnerable to decades of groaning under heavy platters of rich Chinese food. Heaven alone knows how many well-fed folk sat around this table, trading story, boast, and jest.

Vanity Table

Approx. 75 years old

40,000 RMB

Crafted in imitation of the late Art Deco Period, this piece was somehow never finished. The circular storage areas in the detail picture above are supposed to be fitted with small sliding doors, and drawers were meant for the empty space since backed with plywood.

 Maybe some society lady got tired of waiting for the workmen to get it right, or the bombs started dropping on Shanghai before the piece could be finished [we watch too many movies]. Nonetheless, the rich walnut wood and crystal drawer knobs speak of luxury. A primping woman can see her reflection and both profiles by only turning her eyes, pragmatic but rare in a vanity table, and a testament to the skill of the gong guan who almost completed it.

Dragon Chair

100-150 years old

Un-priced

Not priceless, yet, Wei Hengjiu is still researching the provenance of this exquisite long yi, or dragon chair. There is a distinct possibility that the imperial family had it made to hold a royal posterior with western flare. The dragon design on  the chair's back means death to commoners who use it, while the leonine legs are a nod to the style favored by 19^th century European aristocrats. Should his guess prove correct, Mr. Wei will have to surrender this find to the government.

More likely, however, Mr. Wei believes that this dragon chair was made for one of the innumerable generalissimos of China's lamentable Warlord Period. Even with the last emperor safely out of the picture, use of the royal dragon design was incredibly audacious, a sign of imperial ambitions.  The western touches down below would have represented the occident's place in heaven's order, as well as the general's firm grounding in western war technology. A bit speculative, granted, for a culture other than China's, in which every detail is imbued with meaning.

To see these antiques and more contact Wei Hengjiu at 13341009008