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Chinese Export Wall Decorations

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
Period: Early 20th Century
Set of Four Framed Chinese T’ang Horse Paintings
Located in Bradenton, FL
Beautiful set of four watercolor Chinese T’ang style horses. Gilt framing on all four. Very good condition with minor wear on frames.
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Paint

Chinese Export circa 1900 Gold Leaf Painted Fret Work Carved Wall Panel in Teak
Located in GB
We are delighted to this lovely circa 1900 hand carved and paint Chinese Export wall panel A very good looking and well-made piece, would suit any setting its ornately carved in s...
Category

Early 1900s Chinese Antique Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Teak

Pair of Distressed Antique Chinese Hand Painted Wooden Panels
Located in Hopewell, NJ
Stunning pair of distressed antique Chinese hand painted wooden panels having red backgrounds and figural decoration of warriors on horseback in black, white and green.
Category

Early 1900s Chinese Antique Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Wood

Verre Eglomise Chinese Export Reverse Glass Painting
Located in Vero Beach, FL
Antique Verre Eglomise Chinese Export reverse glass painting. Beautiful Chinese reverse glass painting of two women in a Chinese garden with a scroll. This painting is particularly vibrant and exquisite in color and detail. The wood frame painting...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Glass, Wood

Pair of Antique Botanical Pictures of Exotic Flowers and Butterflies
Located in London, GB
A pair of exquisite gouache / watercolour studies of exotic flowers and butterflies; European in the Cantonese style, circa 1900. Why we like them Exquisitely hand-painted with ...
Category

Early 20th Century English Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Paper

Four Antique Pictures of Flowers and Butterflies
Located in London, GB
A set of four exquisite gouache studies of exotic flowers and butterflies; possibly Cantonese, circa 1900. Why we like them Exquisitely hand-painted with lots of minute details, ...
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Early 20th Century English Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Paper

Tibetan Pictorial Throw Rug
Located in New York, NY
A fine-quality antique Tibetan throw-size pictorial rug. Would make for a great wall hanging too Measures: 2'5" x 5'
Category

Early 20th Century Tibetan Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Wool

Early 20th Century Chinese Antique Gilt Metal Buddha Head
Located in Pomona, CA
This is a Chinese antique gilt metal Buddha head from Shan Xi, China. This Buddha Head is made from metal with gilt on the face and in very good cond...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Metal

Set of Five Antique Chinese Watercolors on Silk
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Intriguing set of five Chinese watercolor paintings on silk depicting men occupied in their trades, executed in a soft delicate technique and presented under glass in four wood frame...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Silver Leaf

VINTAGE CHINESE OIL PAiNTING OF A BEAUTIFUL VASE & GHASIA GIRL STATUE
Located in GB
Royal House Antiques Royal House Antiques is delighted to offer for sale this lovely decorative vintage Chinese oil panting of a Geisha girl statue standi...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Canvas

Pair of Signed Antique Chinese Watercolour Silk Paintings of Geisha Girl Flowers
Located in GB
We are delighted to offer for sale this lovely pair of antique circa 1920’s Chinese Export hand painted on silk paintings depicting a Geisha girl and a floral scene with butterfly. A very good looking and beautifully painted pair, they were made for the export market during the British colonialism...
Category

1920s Chinese Vintage Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk

Chinese Painted and Lacquered Panel Landscape with Figures, Large Scale
Located in Stamford, CT
Large scale Chinese lacquered panel showing a mountainous landscape in lovely subtle brown and gold tones. Depicting figures in two different structures on either side, both with che...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Wood

Four Chinese Hardwood and Mother of Pearl Inlaid Panels
Located in Lambertville, NJ
A set of four antique Chinese decorative panes with mother of pear inlay. The panels with floral and branch with various birds hand inlaid into a hardwood panel. The four panels may ...
Category

Early 1900s Chinese Antique Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Mother-of-Pearl, Hardwood

Set of Eight Chinese Watercolors of Working Women
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Rare antique set of eight Chinese watercolors depicting women in various occupations executed in a traditional delicate style on pith. Presented in a gilt carved wood Asian style fra...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Paint

Chinese Republic Period Famille Noire Porcelain Plaque Painted with Parrots
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Chinese Republic Period Famille Noire porcelain plaque painted with parrots signed with oblong iron red seal, in a later hardwood and ebonized frame Measures: Plaque 9"x 12" Frame 14...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Brass

Large Antique Chinese Hand Painted Wallpaper Section in Carved Hardwood Frame
Located in Austin, TX
A wonderfully charming large and colorful Chinese hand painted wallpaper section in a carved and shaped hardwood frame. The wallpaper dates to the first half of the 20th century or e...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Hardwood, Paper

Set of Six Chinese Watercolors of Song Birds
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Set of six Chinese watercolors on paper of song birds in trees executed in a distinctive delicate style with bold colors. Presented in wood...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Paint

Framed Antique Chinese Child Tiger-Head Hat
Located in Atlanta, GA
This lovely textile art was from Central-Northern China circa 1900s, known as "Tiger-head" hat, it was a lavishly made cotton with silk hat in form of tiger for baby boys with a wide...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Cotton, Silk, Plexiglass, Wood

Carved Wood Panel, China, 20th Century, Interior Decoration
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Carved wood panel, China, 20th century, Interior Decoration Measures: H 48cm, W 66cm, W 3cm.
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Wood

Framed Pair of Asian Chinese Antique Leather and Silk Embroidered
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Framed in a Lucite box, pair of Asian Chinese leather and silk shoes embroidered and adorned with gold thread. Exquisite pair of collectible antique shoes mounted and presented on a...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Leather, Silk

Young Elegant Asian Woman Oil on Canvas, circa 1940s
Located in San Francisco, CA
Young elegant Asian woman oil on canvas, circa 1940s This is one of our favorite paintings. A young Asian woman out on a warm afternoon. The quality of this painting cannot be ...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Canvas

Related Items
Pair of French Painted Tole Panels
Located in Essex, MA
Each panel with chinoiserie decoration in the western fashion.
Category

1870s European Antique Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Tin

Pair of French Painted Tole Panels
Pair of French Painted Tole Panels
H 25.75 in W 29.75 in D 1.25 in
Pair of Minton-Spidell Vintage Hand Painted Scenic Diptych Oil Painting Panels
Located in LOS ANGELES, CA
Vintage Hand Painted scenic oil painting panels - a pair Additional information: Materials: Giltwood, Paint Color: Blue Period: Mid-20th Century Art Subjects: Landscape Styl...
Category

Mid-20th Century Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Giltwood

Chinese Late 18th Century Reverse Painting on Glass in its Original Frame
Located in Hudson, NY
This large reverse painting on glass from China circa 1780 to 1790 depicts a dramatic battle scene of numerous horsemen and infantry charging in a very...
Category

Late 18th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Glass

Chinese Export Watercolor Exotic Bird Paintings on Paper
Located in Downingtown, PA
China Trade watercolor paintings of exotic birds on branches are in watercolor and gouache on Chinese paper. One picture depicts a pigeon perched on a tree branch with a landscape background. Chinese calligraphy can be seen in the top right corner. The second picture depicts two courting birds in shades of brown, both perched on a branch, also in a landscape background. Both paintings framed with a green silk mat and contemporary gilt and dark wood frame. Reference: Chinese Export...
Category

Early 18th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Paper

Hand-Painted Japanese Screen Panel of Pidgeon
Located in 10 Chater Road, HK
The pidgeon painting of this single-panel screen is hand-painted in watercolor, on rice paper over carefully jointed wooden lattice frames. Rails are then applied to the perimeter to...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Wood, Paper

Antique Chinese Hand Painted Fan with Calligraphy, c. 1900
Located in Jimbaran, Bali
A Chinese hand-painted fan with hand-painted calligraphy (with two different drawing on either side). The fan's frame is crafted from bamboo and also includes wood engravings. The ca...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Bamboo

Antique Chinese Hand Painted Fan with Calligraphy, c. 1900
Antique Chinese Hand Painted Fan with Calligraphy, c. 1900
Free Shipping
H 12.6 in W 18.12 in D 0.79 in
19th Century Antique Chinese 3d Wood Carving Panel
Located in Pomona, CA
Look at this Chinese antique wood carving panel, it has very deep 3D carving works of Chinese folks art - deer and immortal holding a glossy ganoderma- meani...
Category

19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Wood

Large Chinese Export Reverse Paintings on Glass, the Beauty
Located in Norton, MA
Large charming 19th-century Chinese export reverse glass painting, depicting the beauty of traditional Chinese customs and clothing decorations on the noblewomen. The paintings come with their original hardwood frame and the old pins...
Category

19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Glass, Wood

Chinese Reverse Glass Painting of Scholars' Objects, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
This colorful floral still life is a charming example of Chinese reverse glass painting. Popularized during the Qing dynasty, reverse glass painting requires an artist to essentially...
Category

19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Glass, Wood

Antique Chinese Hand Painted Fan with Calligraphy, c. 1900
Located in Jimbaran, Bali
A Chinese hand-painted fan with hand-painted calligraphy (with two different drawing on either side). The fan's frame is crafted from bamboo and also includes wood engravings. The calligraphy features flowers, leaves and a grass hopper...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Bamboo

Antique Chinese Hand Painted Fan with Calligraphy, c. 1900
Antique Chinese Hand Painted Fan with Calligraphy, c. 1900
Free Shipping
H 12.6 in W 19.69 in D 0.79 in
Pair Chinoiserie Hand Painted Wallpaper Panels of Golden Pavilions on Black
Located in 10 Chater Road, HK
The fine pair of wallpaper panels was hand-painted in gilt paint on rice paper, reproducing the 19th century Chinese export chinoiserie painti...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Paper

Chinese Cloissone Box with Carved Jade Plaque, circa 1900
Located in Lambertville, NJ
A diminutive Antique Chinese Cloisonné box with jade medallion line with wood. The enameled outside in shades of blue with gold color wir...
Category

Early 1900s Chinese Antique Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Jade, Enamel

Previously Available Items
Asian Framed Embroidery with Landscape, Early 20th Century
Located in VÉZELAY, FR
Beautiful handmade silk embroidery, framed under glass. We see a landscape where a lake or a navigable river is represented, bordered by houses, forests and mountains. Asia, old In...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Fabric, Silk, Glass, Wood

Early 20 Century Antique Chinese Rosewood with Jade Inlay Wall Plaques, Set of 4
Located in Pomona, CA
This is a set of 4 panels Chinese antique wall plaques panels. They were hand made and features beautiful Chinese Charters of a masterpiece, The Canoni...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Jade

Chinese Reverse Glass Portrait of Empress Dowager Cixi
Located in Chicago, IL
Painted with intricate detail and vibrant colors, this portrait of a seated noble woman is an exquisite example of Chinese reverse glass painting. Popularized during the Qing dynasty, reverse glass painting requires an artist to essentially work backwards, starting with details and shading before adding color and form. Lending the finished work a subtle three-dimensional effect, this exacting technique doesn't allow for any corrections, and is only revealed to its full effect when the glass pane is turned around. This finely painted example dates to the early 20th century and depicts the Empress Dowager...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Glass, Wood

Framed Print of Chinese Gentleman in Red
Located in Sheffield, MA
The black-framed print (under glass) is of a distinguished Chinese ancestor painting of a gentleman who is wearing a red robe embellished wit...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Fabric, Wood, Paint, Paper

Framed Print of Chinese Gentleman in Red
Framed Print of Chinese Gentleman in Red
H 43.5 in W 23.75 in D 1 in
Early 20th Century Verre Eglomise Chinese Export Reverse Glass Painting
Located in Vero Beach, FL
Early 20th century Verre Eglomise Chinese export reverse glass painting Beautiful Chinese reverse glass painting of two women reading a...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Glass

Pair of Antique Chinese Inspired Wall Shelves or Brackets with Detailed Panels
Located in Hamilton, Ontario
This pair of collapsible wall shelves or brackets are unsigned, but presumed to have been made in China in approximately 1920 in the period Chinese Export style. The shelves clip tog...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Softwood

Chinese Silk Coat with Embroidery Design
Located in Atlanta, GA
A woman's coat imade of black silk with wide sleeves from Chinese late Qing to the Republic era (1900-1930s), professionally mounted and presented on black linen board as a textile a...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk

Pair of Early 20th Century Verre Eglomise Chinese Export Reverse Glass Paintings
Located in Vero Beach, FL
Pair of early 20th century Verre Eglomise Chinese Export Reverse glass paintings. Beautiful pair of Chinese reverse glass paintings of Geisha girls. This matching pair is exquisit...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Glass

One Hundred Chinese Boys at Play Silk Embroidery, circa 1930s
Located in San Francisco, CA
One hundred Chinese boys at play silk embroidery, circa 1930s Traditional Chinese silk embroidery of 100 boys at play. This hand embroidered silk tapest...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk

Chinese Reverse Glass Portrait with Blue Drape
Located in Chicago, IL
With sparkling color and an unsophisticated treatment of perspective, this reverse glass portrait of a young woman sitting beneath a decorative ...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Glass

Pair of Porcelain Chargers Plates
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Pair of Chinese white and blue porcelain chargers plates are in good condition with its original glaze finish. This pair of plates depicting a...
Category

Early 1900s Chinese Antique Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Porcelain, Ceramic

Pair of Antique Chinese Export Reverse Glass Portraits of Ladies with Dogs
Located in London, GB
A rare pair of unusual Chinese export reverse glass pictures of young ladies holding Pekingese dogs, China, early 20th century. Why we like them Th...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Wall Decorations

Materials

Glass

Chinese Export wall decorations for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Chinese Export wall decorations for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the Late 20th Century, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage wall decorations created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include wall decorations, asian art and furniture, more furniture and collectibles and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with wood, fabric and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Chinese Export wall decorations 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 wall decorations, popular names associated with this style include Chelsea House, Sunqua, and Totoya Hokkei. 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 wall decorations differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $95 and tops out at $76,572 while the average work can sell for $2,550.

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