Chinese furniture--Ceramic

Chinese Antique Tables Intro And Collection Tips -- Part 1 <<< Go to Part 2

In Chinese we have two words for tables. Zhuo and An. They all mean table. But there’s difference between them.

What’s the difference between Zhuo and An?

Do you like to know some interesting collecting stories about Mr. Ma?

Look at the tow pictures. The first one is An. The next one is Zhuo.

The legs position decides the name for An or Zhuo. If the legs are somewhat backward from the top panel it’s called An. If the legs are to the edge of top panel it’s called Zhuo.

This is An

This is Zhuo

What kinds of An do we have?

1. Sacrifice altar An(Altar Table)

You can compare sacrifice An with sacrifice table as below.

For such kind of long scroll painting you'd better to put it on book altar An to view.

3. Flat An

5. Scrolled down An.

5. Jiaji An( Assembled An)

It’s a set with 2 pcs of stand and a long top panel. It’s easy to carry.

Collection Story on Jiaji An:

Good wood An tables are not easy to find. They are almost stored in Forbidden City..

I had only one chance to view a good An in a ancestral hall of a village in Putian, Fujian Province. It’s very big with 4.2M long and one piece top panel called one piece Jade. Mr. Ma couldn’t afford to buy the beautiful Sandalwood An at the time.

Later the villagers had a meeting and decided to sell the Jiaji An and they share the income. Now the rare piece is kept and shown at American Denver Museum.

Next <<< Part 2