Hi, my name is John from ChineseAntiqueFurnitureShop.com today we’re going to talk about Chinese benches in our continuing series of videos. Obviously benches come in a great variety of styles and a great variety in lengths. I need to differentiate a bench from a stool from my definitional purposes a stool is place where one person sits, a bench is a place where many people can sit. Take a look at this bench here please, this is a long bench have some really style characteristics such as the wasted molding just beneath the top, but the principal dominant feature of this bench is the wonderful carving that is on the legs and on the bench top. That carving by the way is equally well done on the ups and side. The bench is heave take my word for. The second bench that I want to talk about is a much more formal style, classically simple style. Take a careful look at this bench for example. Note the picture frame molded top, what I mean by picture frame is there is a central panel flank by wood trust as it would be as if it were in a picture frame or in a window. Note also please the beautifully molded waist underneath the top. Notice the carefully inset post supporting the medial stretcher but also at the shape of the medial stretcher. Look at the grace top here, the opposite carving here, and note also the beautiful cuffing on the feet. This bench has classic proportions. This bench style is frequently found or all of its kind is a magnificent example of what I recall furniture architecture.
The third type of bench that I want to show you is this one right here. This has elements of the refinement that we saw in the preceding bench, it has features and other ornaments supporting the stretcher and it has a bamboo part which you can see here. I’m sorry I’m not strong enough just to turn the bench over and show you the underneath side but this bench has a very firm wooden support underneath the bamboo. So that the bamboo is really ornamental as oppose to being structural. This bench is a—does lacks some of the elements of the preceding bench. It doesn’t have the cup feet, it doesn’t have—it is just a very simple stretcher but it’s a beautiful country piece.
This bench is a pure country bench, probably used for restaurants sitting or something like that. It’s really nothing that its high style about it. It’s just extremely simple. Although there happen certain interesting concessions made the human comfort and that is the edges here have been rounded and smooth so that somebody sitting on it isn’t going to get a sharp length edge in there leg. It’s also again beautifully made and you can see the lights modest straight through the top. I would describe this bench as country. I would describe this as primitive. This bench was used obviously used for chopping purposes, built for strength not for anything other than pure utilitarian purpose. Notice the thickness of the top, notice the thickness of the legs and if I’m strong enough to show you I’d like to show you all the cut marks that are in the top.
The last bench I want to show is again a very very primitive bench. There is evidence that this is been used for chopping. But what I think is really kind of neat about this bench is the way on which it was simply made from a tree with its original branches used as feet.
This concludes our series of videos on benches and be sure to visit our site ChineseAntiquesFurnitureShop.com sign up please for our mailing list so that you can awarded of additional videos as they’re released and changes an updates to our website. Thanks so much for watching.
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