THE ORIENTAL COLLECTION

The Far East has long inspired home interiors worldwide, and with our latest Oriental Collection, we’re traveling there once again! But first we think you should know a little of history:

The Chinese have always been masters of the ceramic art, and their skill spread northward to Korea, northeastward to Japan, and south to the countries of Southeast Asia.

Nearly all the more important techniques—majolica excepted—came from China. The Tang dynasty (618–907) was renowned for fine earthenware; the Song dynasty (960–1279) for superb stoneware; and from the Yuan dynasty (1206–1368) onward the Chinese have led the world in the manufacture of porcelain, the secret of which reached Europe only after the porcelain had been imported for several centuries.

Bronze was employed for vessels rather than figure sculpture. Originally purely religious in connotation, bronze vessels were given as gifts of emperors to their favoured subjects by the Zhou dynasty (1111–255 BCE) and from that time on were commonly employed for secular purposes. During the Tang dynasty, handsome mirrors as well as such useful and decorative things as toilet-boxes were commonly made.

We hope you enjoy this collection of special antiques brought straight from the East!