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.
$640Sale Price|20% Off
Antique Asian Center Table With Decorative Pearl Inlay and Stone Top
Located in Trenton, NJ
This decorative round center table combines timeless beauty with functional versatility. The polished grey marble inset top is framed by dark hardwood, offering an elegant contrast o...
Stone
Chinese Export Bamboo Fretwork Square Center Table
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Amazing Chinese export center table featuring intricate bamboo open fretwork on the aprons. The top of the square table has a black lacquered piece of wood supported by round bamboo ...
Bamboo, Wicker, Wood
$2,446Sale Price|30% Off
South East Asian Handcrafted Bone Marquetry Rosewood Center Table Breakfast Tabl
Located in Germantown, MD
South East Asian Handcrafted Bone Marquetry Rosewood Center Table Breakfast Tabl Measures 42" in width, 42" in depth and 30" in height. Knee clerance is 26.25".
Bone, Rosewood
$28,950Sale Price|76% Off
Fine Chinese Late 20th Century Carved Green Serpentine Center Table
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A Chinese late 20th century finely carved green serpentine center table. The six-legged pedestal table entirely carved of green serpentine, with a pierced apron in a Cantonese design...
Serpentine
19th Century Chinese Hardwood Centre Table
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A very good quality early 19th century Chinese hardwood centre table. Having an inset rouge marble top with brass inlay to the cr...
Marble
Chinese Export, Ebonized Wood, Mother-of-Pearl, Center Table, China, 1900
Located in Stamford, CT
Chinese Export, Ebonized Wood, Mother-of-Pearl, Center Table, China, 1900 A beautifully crafted black lacquer and mother-of-pearl inlaid Chinese antique tilt-top table, dating from ...
Mother-of-Pearl, Lacquer
19th Century antique Chinese Tea Table Lacquered with Porcelain inclusions
Located in Neguri, Vizcaya
Chinese black lacquerd tea table with gilt highlights, circa 1930's. Needs restauration in left side, but the design and style is precious because it reunites black lacquered with a...
Bentwood
Qing Period Chinese Export Rosewood Inlaid Centre Table by Edwards & Roberts
Located in King's Lynn, GB
An impressive mid-19th century Qing period (1644-1912), Chinese export centre table, made in Chinese rosewood and retailed by Edwards & Roberts. The table is richly inlaid with i...
Ivory, Rosewood
IMPORTANT COFFEE TABLE Chinese 19th Century
Located in Madrid, ES
IMPORTANT COFFEE TABLE Chinese 19th Century in hardwood, with carvings. Pink marble top. Dim.: 76 x 100 x 55 cm good conditions
Wood
Antique Chinese Huanghuali Hardwood Round Table
Located in North Miami, FL
Antique Huanghuali hardwood round low center table with great patina. very nice original wear. Elegant appearance. Structurally sound. Apparently unmarked. Measures: Approximate heig...
Wood
19th Century Anglo-Chinese Carved Teak and Inlaid Stand, circa 1880
Located in San Francisco, CA
19th century Anglo-Chinese carved teak and inlaid stand, circa 1880 From the China Trade, clipper ship, period. Very in vogue and exotic decor popular in Europe and America in the late 19th century. Ornately carved and inlaid decoration. Boxwood and bone inlays on the top and legs. A "tour de force" Chinese pavilion...
Bone, Boxwood, Teak
Antique Chinese Hand-Painted Center Tables with Gold Leaf, 1970s
Located in Queens, NY
PAIR of Chinese center tables hand-painted with Chinoiserie scenes of houses and seated women captured in pastoral settings on tops trimmed in carved gold leaf motifs, supported on g...
Wood
20th Century Chinese Teak Center Table
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
20th century Chinese square teak center table all original.
Teak
19th Century ENGLISH BATTING TABLE
Located in Madrid, ES
19th Century ENGLISH BATTING TABLE in black lacquered wood with gold. Some flaws and minor defects. Dim.: 106 x 60 cm good original conditions
Lacquer
$105,000
H 29.5 in Dm 54 in
Russian Neoclassical, Rosewood, Brass Inlay, Tilt-Top Center Table, 19th Century
Located in Stamford, CT
Russian Neoclassical, Rosewood, Brass Inlay, Tilt-Top Center Table, 19th Century Early Russian neoclassical early 19th century rosewood breakfast / center / dining table. The show s...
Rosewood
$6,300Sale Price|47% Off
H 30.5 in W 40.25 in D 40.25 in
Stunning Exotic Wood Antique Breakfast Table or Center Table
Located in Los Angeles, CA
If you are looking for something completely unique and special, look no further - this absolutely stunning antique breakfast table features the most beautiful exotic wood and would make an ideal Statement piece in any interior. We are unsure of the type of wood - however it is wood, possibly an Amboyna Burl, as we had completed a full restoration and noticed the wood grain was still present after sanding down a light portion of it. It appears to have been painstakingly assembled / tessellated with each piece on its edge highlighting the amazing burled wood grain. While we are a bit uncertain on some of the details of this table - one thing we know for sure is that it is one of the most remarkable pieces of furniture (or in this case functional art) that we have seen. As for age - we do not know when this was made but when we acquired it, it had decades of age giving us the feeling this is an antique piece from earlier 20th Century. We just completed a full restoration with a beautiful lacquer coat giving it plenty of protection for regular use as a center table, cafe or dining table, or as a large sculpture pedestal table. So beautiful, and so special - ready to grace any fine interior space as a Statement piece. This exotic wood breakfast table...
Wood
19th Century Italian Neoclassical Centre Table
Located in Gloucestershire, GB
A handsome Italian early 19th century Neo-Classical walnut ebonised and giltwood centre table. The table is raised on finely carved paw feet below elegant square tapered ebonised le...
Giltwood
19th Century Oval Centre Table
Located in Shipston-On-Stour, GB
A nicely shaped 19th Century oval rosewood centre table, the tilt top with gadrooned edge and shallow frieze, raised on a a carved vase shaped column with four splay legs, carved lap...
Rosewood
Early 20th Century Empire Center Table
Located in Houston, TX
Early 20th century Empire lacquered walnut dolphin center table.
Wood, Walnut
19th Century Italian Center Table with Marquetry
Located in Stahnsdorf, DE
19th Century Center table with marquetry, Italy, Ca.1860 Walnut with fruit woods, Late 19th century Italian octagonal center table with...
Walnut
$40,494
H 25.2 in W 48.04 in D 28.35 in
Italian 18th Century Carved Giltwood Center Table with Marble Serpentine Top
Located in Meer, VAN
Italian 18th Century Carved Giltwood Center Table with Marble Serpentine Top This is a very special and museum worthy 18th century Italian center table in carved and gilded wood wit...
Marble
$2,065
H 28.5 in W 36.38 in D 36.38 in
Baker Furniture French Empire Cherry Wood, Brass, and Ebonized Center Table
Located in South Bend, IN
An elegant French Empire or Neoclassical tea table or center table By Baker Furniture USA, Late 20th Century Cherry wood base, with mo...
Brass
Ironies Aslo Stone Top Pedestal Center Dining Table
By Ironies
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Dramatic molded stone top pedestal dining table or center table by Ironies Hollywood, California. The "Aslo" table features a graceful symmetrical splay of hand-hammered iron legs in...
Stone, Iron
$29,700
H 38.25 in W 62.25 in D 21 in
Antique Neoclassical Mahogany Center Table with Marble Top, Circa 1810
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
An antique Neoclassical Italian center table made of hand crafted shellac polished Mahogany, in good condition. The freestanding console table is composed with a white-grey marble to...
Marble
19th Century Italian Giltwood Centre Table
Located in Gloucestershire, GB
Stylish early 19th Century centre table. The simulated marble top with shaped moulded edge and acanthus carved frieze, raised on a shapely giltwood triform base with exaggerated scro...
Giltwood
Neoclassical Ebonized Swedish Center or Library Table
Located in Chireno, TX
Neoclassical ebonized Swedish center table, or library table, hand-carved in Second Empire, or Napoleon III style. Will also be an excellent writing t...
Wood, Paint
Ornately Carved Antique Ebonized Chinese Center Table
Located in Hopewell, NJ
Gorgeous ornately carved antique ebonized center table having glistening burgundy and gold highlights.
Wood
Mid-19th Century Chinese Export Lacquer Centre Table
Located in London, GB
China, circa 1860 A fine Mid-19th Century Chinese export table black and gold lacquer surface, the tilt top decorated with bucolic scenes of Chinese pagodas, all framed within a b...
Wood
Sold
H 19.3 in W 46.46 in D 33.86 in
Antique 19th Century Anglo Chinese Bamboo Low Table Coffee Table C.1815
Located in London, GB
Antique 19th Century Anglo Chinese Bamboo low table coffee table C.1815 A Chinese Export bamboo two tier coffee table. Geometric design with leather tie detailing and a (later add...
Leather, Bamboo, Rattan, Glass
Fine Chinese Export Red Lacquer Occasional Table, circa 1820
Located in Lymington, GB
A fine quality Chinese export lacquer occasional table. Early 19th century, ca 1820. The tilt top with typical exotic scenes of people, pagodas, lakes, foliage, bridges, fishermen ...
Lacquer
Antique Chinese Qing Dynasty Carved Elm Center Table Bats & Brids, 1890
Located in Portland, OR
A very nice & finely carved antique Chinese elm center table, circa 1890. The table having a circular top with a carved band of clouds and a carved band of lappets below, the body o...
Elm
Chinese Export Bamboo Center Table
Located in Winter Park, FL
A Mid Century Chinese Export Brighton Pavilion style bamboo center table with intricate scrollwork decoration. Excellent craftsmanship using pegged construction and dovetail joints. ...
Bamboo
Chinese Export Black Lacquer, Gilt, and Mother of Pearl Center Table
Located in New York, NY
Very fine example of Chinese Export furniture made for the English market during the Regency period and the epitome of Brighton Pavilion taste. The round tilt-top elaborately decorat...
Abalone, Lacquer
Scalloped Shaped Chinoiserie Centre Dining Table
Located in Cranbrook, Kent
The top cut in a five scallop shape with excellent gilded decoration details, all in naturally aged distressed condition with excellent patina, the tri form base cut in a fret work s...
Lacquer
Chinese Round Tea Table, circa 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
With an expansive round tabletop and sinuous curved legs, this late 19th century tea table was likely designed with Western tastes in mind. The...
Hardwood
Sold
H 26.78 in Dm 31.89 in
Heavily Carved Chinese Dragon Occasional Centre Table Black Ebonised Finish
Located in West Sussex, Pulborough
Wimbledon-Furniture Wimbledon-Furniture is delighted to offer for sale this stunning heavily carved and black ebonsied Chinese Dragon centre table circa 1900 Please note the de...
Wood
19th Century Chinese Hardwood Centre Table
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A very good quality 19th century Chinese hardwood centre table, having an inset rouge marble top, having a gadrooned edge, scroll...
Hardwood
Antique Chinese Round Center Table Hand Carved Elm
Located in Topeka, KS
Handsome antique Chinese round and hand carved center table of elm wood. This table is in good antique condition with lots and lots of gorgeous age patina including patched spots, un...
Elm