Expanded trade between Europe and East Asia, starting in the 16th century, led to a booming market for exported goods, particularly furniture. This was bolstered by the establishment of the Dutch and English East India Companies at the beginning of the 17th century. From folding screens and chairs to lacquer tables and silver, Chinese Export furniture was in demand and regularly copied and imitated, leading to styles like chinoiserie and Chinese Chippendale.
The expansion of exporting that had strengthened the arts during the Ming dynasty continued into the Qing dynasty era — Chinese designers made many furniture pieces specifically for export, resulting in distinctive designs that mixed traditional techniques with forms appealing to foreign buyers. For instance, cabinetmakers in Canton (modern-day Guangzhou) were prolific in crafting hardwood furniture for export in European styles that involved the expert joinery techniques of Chinese furniture. Designs for Chinese Export porcelain, cabinets, decorative objects and other furniture were often more ornately adorned than they would be for a local audience, such as with mother-of-pearl overlays or surfaces featuring lavish pictorial scenes or gold on black motifs. Some were even commissioned by wealthy European families to be adorned with their coat of arms.
Because lacquer furniture was especially prized, and the resin used to create it was difficult to import as it would harden during the long voyage, artisans in China and Japan exported numerous lacquer pieces. Long before lacquer made its way to Japan, the Chinese treated the material differently. They used it to create smooth, glossy surfaces, but also for carving, an art that began in the 12th century and is exclusively Chinese. These pieces are called cinnabar lacquer after the powdered mercury sulfide (cinnabar) employed to produce their characteristic red hue. A popular form for export was a compact cabinet with drawers, usually displayed on a small table. Undecorated furniture built in Europe was also shipped to China to be lacquered. The international exchange of design would influence furniture into the 19th century and later, informing styles such as Art Deco and Art Nouveau.
Find a collection of antique Chinese Export tables, beds, cupboards, table lamps and more furniture on 1stDibs.
Antique Chinese Export Silver Cigarette Case
Located in New York, NY
Chinese export silver cigarette case, ca 1910. Curved and rectangular with push tab. On cover engraved tail-chasing dragon—all talons and horns and scaly serpentine body. Back plain....
Silver
Antique 1900s Chinese Silver Vinaigrette
Located in Jesmond, Newcastle Upon Tyne
An exceptional, fine and impressive antique Chinese silver vinaigrette in the form of a purse; an addition to our silver boxes collection This excep...
Silver
Chinese Export Porcelain Famille Rose Snuff Box- European subjects
Located in Downingtown, PA
East Meets West: Rare Chinese Export "European Subject" Porcelain Snuff Box Circa 1750–1760 A superb mid-18th century Chinese Export porcelain snuff box, finely painted in famille rose and puce enamels, featuring rare "European Subject" decoration. The rectangular box, after a European silver form, features a slightly domed cover and is fitted with its contemporary chased gilt-metal (ormolu) mounts and hinge. The exterior walls are painted with a continuous frieze of European figures—gentlemen in 18th-century frock coats...
Porcelain
$1,163Sale Price|34% Off
19th Century Squared Spinach Jade Snuff Bottle with Unique Design
Located in Lomita, CA
This spinach jade snuff bottle has a geometric appearance with its squared silhouette and ledge that is ergonomically designed to accommodate a finger or a thumb while using the bott...
Jade
$1,356Sale Price|20% Off
Chinese Export Silver Cigar Box by Hung Chong & Co.
Located in Savannah, GA
Sterling silver cigar box marked Hung Chong (or Cheong) & Co., silversmiths & retailers, Canton, China, circa 1860-1930. Classic intertwined ...
Sterling Silver
Chinese Export Silver Vinaigrette by Canton Retailer Cutshing
By Cutshing
Located in New York, NY
Chinese export silver vinaigrette. Rectangular with hinged cover. Scenes of indigenous life in low relief. Interior gilt with hinged grill; engraved presentation on cover: “E. E. W. ...
Silver
Rare Chinese Tonkin Ware Shakudo Sawasa Erotic Tobacco Box
Located in Amsterdam, NL
A ruyi-shaped Shakudo-style erotic tobacco or snuff box, relief-decorated with silvered applied figures Possibly Jakarta (Batavia), first half 18th century Measures: H. 2.2 x L. 12.1 x W. 8 cm This box is very much in the Dutch taste, for the illustration is after a print with a legend reading “L’oiseau sans cage. Prenez, belle, mon oiseau. C’est le plus doux présent que je puisse vous faire. Pour les autres oiseaux, la cage d’ordinaire est une espèce de tombeau. Mais le mien semble prendre une nouvelle vie, Lorsqu’il sera dans la cage de mon aimable Silvie.” The erotic message is as clear as can be. In Dutch culture the verb ‘vogelen’ (catching a bird) is another word for having sex and a bird escaping from his cage indicates loss of chastity. The lady with the bare breasts, while making the sign of sealed lips to the lady behind her, who is pointing towards heaven, seems to be caressing the bird held in the sleeping man’s groin. 17th century Dutch pictures...
Gold, Silver, Bronze
$1,480Sale Price / set|20% Off
Qing Dynasty - 13 Antique Chinese Porcelain Enameled Salt Boxes
Located in Atlanta, GA
Chinese, Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), 19th century. A grouping or instant collection of antique porcelain enameled salt boxes. Each box is decorated with immortal being riding the fabl...
Porcelain
Canton Chinese Porcelain Box
Located in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Canton Chinese porcelain box. Chinese export. Circa 1920 origin China. Rectangular format. With internal divisions. Family Rosse style. Box...
Porcelain
wonderful antique silver cigarette case from china
Located in Munich, DE
another piece from my personal collection. wonderful handmade cigarette case from china. made by an unknown artist and retailed by the company woshing / shanghai. the stamp dates the...
Silver
French Carved Snuff Box, Mid-19th Century
Located in Spencertown, NY
The elaborately carved snuff box with a scene of two mermaids on the cover and deeply carved shell on the reverse.
Boxwood
Carved Shoe Form Treen Snuff Box with Carved Shamrock, 19th Century
Located in Spencertown, NY
Probably Irish given the carved shamrock, with hinged top and robust leaf like carving. A small chip to bottom of toe and two small holes on the bottom likely from former mounting.
Wood
$720Sale Price|52% Off
H 24.02 in W 36.23 in D 21.26 in
Japanese Antique Black Lacquered Box 1860s-1900s / Tansu Sideboard Wabisabi
Located in Chōsei District Nagara, JP
This box is made in Japan and coated with black lacquer. The furniture was made during the Meiji period (1860s-1900s) and is made of cedar wood. The metal fittings are made of copper...
Copper
$1,196Sale Price|20% Off
H 4.5 in W 8.75 in D 6 in
19th Century Chinese Export Lacquer Decorated Tea Caddy Box
Located in Atlanta, GA
Chinese for the English market, 19th century. A fine quality antique Chinese export tea caddy decorated with beautiful gilding surfaces, a hinged lid which opens to reveal a tooled ...
Pewter
$240
H 2.75 in W 3 in D 3.13 in
Antique Grand Tour Souvenir Casket, Eglomise Breslau, Wrocław, Poland 1900s
Located in Nuernberg, DE
Antique Ormolu and Églomisé Casket - Souvenir from Breslau, Poland circa 1900 A charming antique casket from circa 1900 with gilt brass fittings and clear glass panels. The hinged l...
Crystal, Ormolu
$595
H 0.5 in W 1.5 in D 1 in
Antique Georgian Sterling Silver Gilt Vinaigrette Birmingham William Simpson
By Simpson
Located in Portland, OR
A good antique Georgian engraved silver gilt Vinaigrette by William Simpson, Birmingham, 1826. The vinaigrette having an engraved engine turned hinged lid with a floral border, the g...
Sterling Silver
Silver Shibayama Cigarette Case
Located in London, GB
A very fine and rare silver Shibayama cigarette case, exquisitely decorated with 18 individual hand crafted insects in semi precious stones. This superb piece bares silver hallmark...
Silver
Chinese Export Black Lacquer Game Box
Located in Essex, MA
Rectangular hinged shaped top enclosing small trays. Conforming case with gilded feet.
Lacquer
19th Century French Silver Snuff Box
Located in Delft, NL
19th century French silver snuff box Late 19th century silver snuffbox with engraved centre and gilt interior Hall marked by the Silversmith, Dubois Leon & Bauve Henri The Dutch...
Silver
Rectangular brushed silver cigarette case
Located in Porto, PT
Description: Brushed silver cigarette case, rectangular in shape with beveled edges. Metal: Silver. Origin: Portuguese. Brand: javali II Title. Weight: 106.98 grams. Dimensions: 11.5...
Silver
Sold
H 2.5 in W 2 in D 1 in
Chinese Handpainted Enamel Snuff Bottle with Qianlong Mark Famille Rose Yellow
Located in Palm Beach, FL
This exquisite Chinese enamel snuff bottle from the 20th century features a beautiful hand-painted design in the famille rose style, showcasing vibrant peonies and traditional motifs...
Metal, Enamel
Chinese Porcelain Shard Box Oriental Decorative Nickel Silver Box
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Vintage Chinese Nickel Silver Box with Porcelain Shard Lid. This Chinese Shard Porcelain trinket box is hand-crafted in a nickel copper alloy and created to fit a piece of porcelain shard as the box lid. Chinese Porcelain Shard Box, beautiful vintage Asian Oriental decorative China shard case. These collectible items feature pieces of porcelain placed in silver-plated alloy metal enclosed boxes or cases. The porcelain Shards is square rounded shape jewellery box with lotus flower design in white porcelain surface, the porcelain design with delicate pink, white blossom flowers and green leaves, the flower painting of Chinese famille rose color, the metal is delicately embossed, The history behind the Shard boxes: "Many items of great value were destroyed during the 1958-1968 Cultural Revolution in China. Price-less collections of china and porcelain were shattered and buried. The Chinese have a penchant for using or recycling everything imaginable and, thus, the shard box was born. individuals recovered shards of the ancient porcelain pieces, smoothed the edges, and turned the shards into lids for boxes. The repousse box is a silvery metal, probably a copper-nickel alloy of the type known as ''nickel silver.'' As the name implies, shards or pieces of broken porcelain...
Metal, Nickel
Sold
H 2.25 in W 10.25 in D 6.5 in
1920s Antique Chinese Decorative Smoking Box Wood and Mother of Pearl Inlay
Located in Chula Vista, CA
Antique Asian Chinese Oriental Vintage Smoke Tobacco Box Interior Compartments Intricate decorative Inlay 6.5 d x 10.25 w x 2.25 tall Personal insc...
Wood
19th Century Qing Tibetan Jadeite Silver and Jade Perfume Pendant
Located in Dallas, TX
Gorgeous 19th century tibetan, late Qing Dynasty and made of silver, jade and jadeite pendant with silver chain. The Jadeite pendant is for holding...
Jade, Silver
Sterling Silver Chinese Export Dragon Cigarette Case
Located in Ottawa, Ontario
Sterling Silver Chinese Export Dragon Cigarette Case, Double dragons on the front, intialed in the center, the back is a scene of the Great Wall ...
Silver