Chinese Export Tables
CHINESE EXPORT STYLE
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.
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Style: Chinese Export
Pair of Antique Chinese Hardwood and Veined Marble Stands
Located in London, GB
The stands in this matching pair are made from 'Hongmu' wood (Chinese hardwood). Each stand rests upon four stylised and flared dragon feet, which extend into four ornately carved ca...
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Hardwood
18th Century Ming Style Altar Table
Located in Pasadena, CA
A 17th-18th century Ming-style small altar table. Elmwood with scroll ends from Shanshi.
Category
18th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Elm
Carved Nest of Chinese Tables Depicting Scenes of Noblemen Dragon Boat Flowers
Located in GB
We are delighted to offer for sale this stunning nest of highly carved tables depicting Chinese noblemen, boats and floral scenes
I have never q...
Category
20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Glass, Teak
Asian Chinese Style Wooden Rectangular Coffee Table
Located in New York, NY
Asian Chinese export (mid-20th Century) hong (black) wood low rectangular coffee table with cabriole legs.
Category
Mid-20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Tables
Chinese Black Lacquer Pedestal Table or Stool
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Charming black lacquer pedestal table or Chinese stool decorated with gilt floral embellishments and butterflies. Supported by round legs ...
Category
20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Wood, Lacquer
Pair of 18th Century Carved Demilunes
Located in Pasadena, CA
Pair of 18th century carved demilunes. Show spectacular workmanship in construction. From Shanshi.
Category
18th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Wood
Mid-19th Century Server or Sideboard with 3 Drawers and Carved Details in Drawer
Located in Charleston, SC
Mid-19th century server or sideboard with 3 drawers and carved details in drawer.
Category
1880s Asian Antique Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Wood
Oriental Side Table, Chinese Elm Cabinet, Late 20th Century
Located in Hele, Devon, GB
This is an oriental side table, a Chinese elm cabinet from the late 20th century.
Dark, russet hues with a wax polished finish
Grain interest and in good order throughout
Raised...
Category
Late 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Elm
Heavily Carved Chinese Export Occasional Centre Table Black Lacquered Finish
Located in GB
We are delighted to offer for sale this stunning heavily carved and black lacquered Chinese export oval centre table, circa 1900.
A very good looking and well made piece, carved a...
Category
Late 19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Teak
Chinese Export Ebonized Nesting Tables, circa 1900
Located in Stamford, CT
Set of three Chinese nesting tables, carved of hard wood with a rich ebonized finish with reddish undertones. Each with a carved openwork apron. The ta...
Category
Early 1900s Chinese Antique Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Wood
19th Century Chinese Hardwood Stand
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A good quality Chinese hardwood hexagona; inset marble-topped stand. Having well carved foliate and floral carving to the frieze, raised on six ornately carved legs, united by a carv...
Category
19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Hardwood
19th Century Chinese Hardwood Side Table
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A good quality 19th century Chinese hardwood occasional table, having an inset marble top, carved foliate decoration to the frieze, raised on a wonderful carved pedestal depicting my...
Category
19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Hardwood
19th Century Chinese Hardwood Display Table or Stand
Located in London, GB
This display table is a refined work crafted in the 19th century of the Chinese Qing dynasty. It would serve as a beautiful ornament upon which to display plants, urns or other decor...
Category
19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Hardwood
Hollywood Regency Coffee Table with Poly-Chromed Mirrored Scenes in Chinoiserie
Located in Stamford, CT
Hollywood Regency coffee table with poly-chromed mirrored scenes in chinoiserie. This stunning and very sweet coffee or low table has one lower distressed mirror shelf with a distres...
Category
Mid-20th Century English Chinese Export Tables
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...
Category
Mid-19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Marble
Pair of Chinese 19th Century Hardwood Stands
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A good quality pair of 19th century Chinese hardwood stands. Each having inset marble tops, carved grape vines to the frieze, two shelves beneath an...
Category
19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Hardwood
Pair 19th Century Chinese Hardwood Stands
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A good quality pair of Chinese hardwood stands, having inset Rouge marble tops, carved flower and foliate decoration with birds. Each raised on out swept legs, united by a stretcher.
Category
19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Hardwood
Asian Chinese Style Brown Lacquered Gilt Medallion Coffee Table
Located in New York, NY
Asian Chinese-style (20th Century) brown lacquered square coffee table with gilt star trim and a large round center medallion with figure...
Category
20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Gold Plate
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...
Category
1860s Chinese Antique Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Bone, Boxwood, Teak
Antique Chinese Lacquer Panel, Coffee Table
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A very decorative 19th century Chinese lacquer panel inset into a coffee table. Having inlaid soapstone carvings of flowers, vases on hardwood s...
Category
19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Soapstone
Chinese Carved Wine Entry Table
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Chinese Ming style wooden wine table featuring a floating top panel and a simple carved apron and spandrels. Finished in a light natural clear lacque...
Category
20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Wood
Chinese Red Lacquered and Gilt Altar Console Table
Located in New York, NY
Asian Chinese (Possibly Vietnamese 19th Century) red lacquered and gilt carved console (alter) table with scroll top sides and 3 front panels with carved floral and bird design.
Category
19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Gold Leaf
19th Century Pair of Chinese Coffee or Side Tables
Located in Chicago, IL
19th century pair of Chinese coffee or side tables. Beautifully constructed of wood. Originally used for meals while seated on the floor.
Dimensions: 44.5" W x 22" D x 19" H.
Category
19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Elm
Pair of openwork Lacquer Consoles from 1900
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Pair of Chinese style wood consoles with a half-moon upper tray. Openwork base in the Asian way of furniture and decoration of tawny lacquer with gilt highlights and flowers ornament...
Category
Early 20th Century French Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Wood
19th / 20th century Round Chinese Low Table
Located in Troy, NY
Petit Chinese coffee or side table of interesting geometric design. The round top supported by a base of interlocking circles, connected at the base by a circular frame on five flat...
Category
20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Hardwood
Antique China Trade Desk
Located in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire
Antique China Trade desk
A fine China Trade desk in padouk with well-carved hairy paw feet and ebony and bone inlay; recessed military handles and carryi...
Category
Mid-19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Padouk
19th Century Chinese Export Hardwood Folding Tray Table
Located in Austin, TX
An elegant Chinese export hardwood tray table set on delicate yoke shaped legs and a hinged x-form stretcher decorated with stylized kui dragons. The he...
Category
19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Hardwood
Chinese Hardwood Pedestal Stand
Located in New York, NY
Asian Chinese (Qing Dynasty-probably 18th Cent) hardwood pedestal stand with an open design under top and a box stretcher with an open design.
Category
18th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Hardwood
Pair of Chinese Hardwood Pedestal Stands
Located in New York, NY
Pair of Asian Chinese (18/19th Cent) hardwood pedestal stands with celadon jade bats inserted into a carved apron under top with a box form stretcher.
Category
Early 19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Jade
Antique Chinese Plant Stand
Located in Paddock Wood Tonbridge, GB
Antique Chinese Plant Stand Introducing this solid rosewood plant stand, carved to perfection in the timeless Ming style. This elegant piece features a slim line design with a waiste...
Category
1880s Chinese Antique Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Rosewood
Ornately Carved Antique Ebonized Chinese Center Table
Located in Hopewell, NJ
Gorgeous ornately carved antique ebonized center table having glistening burgundy and gold highlights.
Category
Early 1900s Chinese Antique Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Wood
Ming Style Pair Of Chinese Lacquered Glossy Black Console Tables
Located in Prato, Tuscany
We kindly suggest that you read the whole description, as with it we try to give you detailed technical and historical information to ensure the authenticity of our objects.
The pair consists of two elegant and slender Chinese console tables made of elm wood lacquered in glossy black; the legs are very simple, and at the bottom, they are folded inward in the Chinese tradition; each has three small but convenient drawers without handles to keep the whole design linear. These consoles were inspired by the Ming Dynasty, at that time this type of furniture was called "Lady's Wardrobe," these pieces of furniture can be seen in the Forbidden City in Beijing and were originally used in Chinese court bedrooms as ladies' makeup tables...
Category
Mid-20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Elm
Chinese Black Lacquer and Mother of Pearl Inlay Coffee Table
Located in Delray Beach, FL
Embrace classic aesthetics with our Chinese Black Lacquer Coffee Table, highlighted by intricate Asian motifs and Mother of Pearl inlays. Featuring a protective inlaid glass top and ...
Category
1980s Chinese Vintage Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Glass, Wood, Mother-of-Pearl, Lacquer
Antique Shanxi Province Elm Carved Side Altar Table with Turned Legs
Located in Chicago, IL
Antique Shanxi Province Elm Carved Side Altar Table with Turned Legs
Circa: 1900s
Dimensions:
W: 75"
D: 14.5"
H: 36"
The Antique Shanxi Province Elm Carved Side Altar Table with...
Category
Early 1900s Chinese Antique Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Wood, Elm
19th Century Chinese Hardwood Opium Table
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A very good quality 19th century Chinese carved hardwood circular Opium table, having in inset figured burr wood top, carved decoration to the frieze and r...
Category
19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Hardwood
Pair of Early 20th Century Chinese Altar Console Tables with Distressed Paint
Located in Charleston, SC
A pair of Asian altar console tables, circa 1920, with distressed cream paint finish.
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Wood
19th C China Trade Roll Top Lap Desk on Stand
Located in Charleston, SC
A early-19th century Asian hardwood lap desk on stand. A similar one is pictured in "The Decorative Arts of The China Trade," page 248. The stand is a replacement made from pearwood.
Category
19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Tables
Materials
Wood
Chinese Export tables for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a broad range of unique Chinese Export tables for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage tables created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include tables, asian art and furniture, building and garden elements and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with wood, hardwood and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Chinese Export tables made in a specific country, there are Asia, East Asia, and China pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original tables, popular names associated with this style include George Zee, Henredon, John Widdicomb, and Susanne Hollis. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for tables differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $295 and tops out at $54,000 while the average work can sell for $2,543.
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