Study on the Characteristics and Influence of Export Furniture in Ming and Qing Dynasties

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the opening of the Maritime Silk Road gave both the West and the East a chance to have direct dialogue with each other. Thanks to the impetus of the "Chinese fever" in Europe, a large number of furniture with distinctive Chinese and Western combined characteristics in shapes, decorative patterns and craft structures is exported from Guangzhou to Europe and the United States in a customized way. As an important carrier for the cultural and artistic exchange between China and Western countries, Guangzhou's export furniture promotes the innovation of European furniture crafts, and continuously injects fresh blood into the development of the "Chinese" decorative style; on the other hand, Guangzhou's artisans accepted and absorbed Western decorative arts and crafts in the long-term export trading, and finally formed the "Guang Zuo" furniture with distinctive style and far-reaching impact. The cultural blending characteristics of Guangzhou's export furniture clearly show the unique situation of the encounter between Chinese and Western cultures during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, which is extremely helpful in deepening the study of cross-cultural art. Keywords—export furniture; oriental trading; Chinoiserie; Cantonese-style furniture