Furniture is like a person. People need health preservation to live for a long time. Furniture also needs "health preservation" maintenance to go through the vicissitudes of time and the style remains the same. Human life has its limits, and it is unheard of for those over 150 years old.
Is there a limit to the life of furniture? It is hard to say at the moment. In short, furniture from the Han Dynasty, Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty exists in the world, and many wooden sacrificial sacrificial slabs and lacquer screens were unearthed from the Warring States Period; furniture from the Ming Dynasty has been around for five or six hundred years, and those that are well preserved are still as vivid and bright as just made. Compared with others, furniture is considered a super high life, no wonder it can be passed down from generation to generation as a heirloom.
. Let’s start from twelve aspects and talk about the concepts, methods and taboos of furniture maintenance.
01· Following wood
People's health care is to follow human nature, and furniture maintenance must also follow wood qualities, that is, the "temperament" of furniture:
Every household in the north in winter has heating, and it is very comfortable to be closer to heating, but furniture must be farther away from heating, so as not to excessive shrinkage of wood and cracking due to excessive temperature.
Summer is coming, and it rains often. Furniture should be avoided when placed next to the window to avoid getting damp in rainy weather, damaging the surface, and damaging mortise and tenon .
Many furniture is also afraid of wind, especially furniture with faces such as tables, boxes and cabinets. Due to the influence of "dry shrinkage, wet and swelling", it is prone to cracking and warping after blowing in the air outlet for a long time.
In short, for people, the temper of furniture is "diligent movement and easy to disperse, long-term quiet and easy to rot"; for the weather, the temper of furniture is "only gradual change, not slight change." Collectors must meet their preferences and follow the wood nature in order to allow exquisite ancient furniture to be passed down for a long time.
"Compare with wood" is the purpose and concept of furniture maintenance.
02·How to prevent the face of the case from falling down
There is a kind of case called shelf case, also called shelf case, the case face is very long, thick, and heavy. Its face and leg are not integrated, but are detachable. It is commonly known as "a piece of jade" in the north and "a piece of stalk" in the south. It was popular in the late Qing Dynasty. People generally use it to place bulky self-tone bells or rock bonsai.
Because the items on the table are very bulky, the table is under great pressure. The two ends of the case are supported by the case legs, so it is not difficult, but the middle of the case is suspended, and there will be a risk of falling waist over time. In order to avoid this phenomenon, the faces should be turned over every year or six months, so that the slightly curved faces will be restored because of the change of the force direction.
03· painted
Because the climate in the south is humid, in order to prevent moisture, the surface of Suzuo furniture is basically covered with a thin layer of raw paint. If the paint is thin, it will appear very transparent. This will not only prevent moisture from invading, but also will not conceal the beauty of the wood itself. The characteristic of Suzu furniture is that both the inside and the outside are painted, and both the inside and the outside are protected.
Guangzuo furniture also has a layer of paint. Painting is difficult for ordinary people, so you can ask a professional to do it. Beijing hardwood furniture is not painted, only a layer of wax is burned on the surface. Because the climate in the north is dry, there is no need to paint, and after burning wax, after long-term and repeated rubbing of the furniture during use, the wax on the surface will penetrate into the wood, oxidize and produce patellar. Patches are also called "wood rust". "wood rust" is a term borrowed from bronze ware. It is very precious in ancient furniture. It is both beautiful and generous, and can protect furniture. The surface of furniture that has formed patina cannot be scalded by boiling water, nor can it be stained with highly soluble liquids, such as gasoline, or the patina will be damaged.
04·How to maintain desktop
There is a saying that goes: "A cold table cannot make hot tea." This sentence can be said to be in line with the wood nature, because the ambient temperature of the furniture cannot be scattered and hot. For example, furniture with stone faces (such as tables, screens, etc.) cannot be placed outdoors in winter, and in summer, it cannot be placed in the sun to avoid cracking.
05· with table cover
In ancient times, expensive furniture would be equipped with table covers, and most of the table covers were made of cloth. For example, in the Qing Dynasty, the imperial palaces used blue cloth as table covers instead of satin (it was wrong to use satin as tablecloths in some Qing official dramas), which was mainly because the water absorption performance of cloth was better than satin.Blue cloth not only absorbs water, but also vacuums. It was called "Yindanshi Lintu" at that time.
Blue cloth table covers are generally dark blue edges, light blue cores, or black edge blue cores. They are used to match precious furniture with black and red. The warm tones form a sharp contrast with the cool tones, which is very layered.
06· remains dry, and the maintenance of furniture is extremely particular in areas where the four seasons change. For example, after the summer and spring and autumn, the climate changes from tide to dryness or from dry to tide. You should open the cabinet door and open the drawer in time to make the furniture wind simultaneously, so as to avoid warping due to one side being too dry or too wet.
However, when the wind is over, the furniture should not be exposed to the sun or the air outlet, and should be placed in a cool and dry place. Because excessive sunlight will damage the material of wooden furniture and cause cracks or warping of the wood, we must try to ensure that the antique furniture is not exposed to sunlight while keeping it moderately dry.
07· waxed
If furniture is used for many years, its luster will gradually disappear, affecting its beauty.
In this case, you can bake floor wax , beeswax, etc. in the sun or by the stove, and rub it repeatedly with the old leather shoe brush, so that the brush will be covered with many tiny melted wax particles. Then use this brush covered with wax particles to brush repeatedly on the furniture. This method is called "dry shook wax". After the treatment of "dry shook wax", the lost furniture immediately became "red" and was more effective than female cosmetics. You can also use purchased Bili Fructose or floor wax to directly wax.
08·When the looseness and fall of furniture parts
If the furniture parts fall off (such as a drawer ring, etc.), the most important thing to pay attention to is: protect the falling parts, which is called "the dead body will never leave the ground." This fallen part can be tied to the furniture with the same color of wool, and if it is a part on a cabinet or drawer, it can also be placed in a cabinet or drawer. Do not put it around randomly, so as not to lose it over time or abandon it for other reasons. Otherwise, once it can be repaired, if the falling parts cannot be found, it is almost impossible to find a part that is the same.
If the furniture is too loose, you can tie it firmly or put it in a sack and tie it, and then find an expert to repair it. Never use chemical products such as tape to avoid improper handling.
09·How to move furniture
There are many people who have well protected their furniture at home, but it will be a waste of time to move. Many of the furniture I have seen were broken during the moving process. For furniture collectors, moving is a big problem. If you don’t learn it, you won’t know it. If you learn it, you will be shocked unless you believe that you will never move it in your life.
Collectors with many collections should especially make up for this lesson, because there are too many furniture, in order to save space, they must be placed. If the layout is not properly placed, phenomena such as waist collapse and legs folding will follow. The first step in
placing is to clarify the order of placing. First, you must place solid and thick furniture on the bottom layer to placing it at the bottom. You can't use a bed because it's thick but not solid. For bulky chairs and stools with stone surfaces, it is best to use the four-legged approach to the sky method, so that the center of gravity is lowered and it is not easy to damage. It is also best to use the four-leg facing upward type when loading and transporting, so that even if it shakes violently, it will not damage the mortise and tenon.
10· Dust removal
Due to environmental pollution, there is more and more dust in the air, especially in cities. Therefore, the protection of furniture has added key lessons and dust removal.
Many furniture has carved parts or complicated hollow parts, which are particularly prone to accumulation of dust. They can be wiped with soft cotton cloth, but remember two points:
1. You cannot use towels. Because the hair of a towel is a small ring structure composed of lines, it will scratch the carvings, corners and small split parts of the wood grain of the furniture;
2. You cannot use a wet cloth. Wet cloth is the natural enemy of ancient furniture. It will bring drastic changes in the wet and dry surface of the furniture, which is contrary to the principle of "compliance with wood". When the moisture and dust in the wet cloth mix, it will form a granular shape. Once friction occurs, it will damage the surface of the furniture. At the least, it will damage the original patina of the furniture, and at the worst, it will cause the surface of the furniture to crack in the future.People generally do not realize its harm and are used to wiping furniture with a wet cloth, thinking that it will be cleaner. If there is too much dust, you can wipe it repeatedly with a damp cloth that can dry the moisture.
11· Cleaning
Cleaning is mainly aimed at old furniture. If these furniture is not professionally cleaned, it is easy to rot, and the other is that it affects the beauty. No matter how old it is, it cannot accommodate such dirty things.
The most conservative cleaning method is to wipe it with alcohol, because alcohol can soften the floating mud and oil stains on the surface of these furniture, making it easy to remove and does not damage the wood. This method is especially suitable for lacquered furniture and nanmu furniture.
During the cleaning process, you must not use boiling water to burn the tabletop, nor can you use scrapers, thick steel wire wool, etc. to scrape and grind it. If necessary, you can use wood chips and bamboo chips to remove thicker dirt from the difficult parts to remove. After cleaning, a layer of beeswax should be applied to restore the former style of the old furniture.
12· Reasonable placement
Furniture placement and maintenance also have a certain relationship. In a bungalow, the table, cabinets, and tables should be placed one centimeter away from the wall and should not be close to the wall. Because if it is stuck too close, the moisture on the brick wall will erode the furniture, causing the furniture to get moisture, and damage the wax layer or patina on the surface of the furniture, thereby damaging the wood.
For more professional furniture knowledge, please follow the WeChat official account Furniture Industry (jiajucy) to learn more!
Furniture with rattan trunks should not be placed in heavy objects or blunt objects to avoid crushing and scratching, nor should it be stepped on, especially in the dry season, which is most likely to be damaged.
