Chinese Indonesian teak and marble desk set

A client wants to barter some work done for an antique desk and mirror set from his great-grandmother. The only details I have so far are that it's at least 100 years old, and hand carved from teak in Indonesia. I'm assuming the counter is marble. Does anyone have an idea as to the style or era? I haven't seen the piece in person yet, but judging from the photo it's in excellent shape, and shows some amazing craftsmanship and detail, although the patina suggests that it's been refinished fairly recently. I'll keep you posted with any details that I can gather from other sources.

 

it's very nice, but I don't think I'd call it a desk....with that mirror.
Maybe one of out BC....or Wet Coast members can speak to whether that style has a positive value out on the coast......for while it's pretty....you want a similar value for the work you've done.....

 

Martin, I've brightened and resized the photo a bit, and I'm inserting it here, so others can see it better:

Like Komo, I wouldn't quite call it a desk, but maybe a vanity of sorts? Others will know better than I...

 

I would call it a vanity table. And I would love to see more detailed pictures.

 

I agree Komokwa. Not sure what the antiques market is like here especially for Asian furniture. I am also trying to get the furniture assessed at Maynard's Auction House. It would be helpful to see their recent furniture sales at auction as well. I'll be taking more detailed photos on Wednesday and posting them...

 

Maynards is good...but find the right person.......they do a lot of large equipment too...

Lunds does some old furniture....but they're on the Island.....so.......
some detective work yet to be done !!!!

 

Wherever you sell it, it is best to call it a Dutch Colonial vanity table. If it was made 100 yrs ago in Indonesia, that's what it is. The Indonesians didn't traditionally have vanity tables, neither did the Chinese Indonesians.
And if you are certain that it was made by Chinese Indonesians, you can add the terms Peranakan or Straits Chinese.
This is Peranakan, it certainly looks a similar style:


Antique Peranakan anything is extremely sought after. I would consider going international with this.

 

Check this out:
https://get.google.com/albumarchive.../AF1QipOwlDSarg4UK21hHAtIpjMDs5nrUZX79BUTSv-J
I am sure @Shangas would love to see this.

 

Is the carving complete? The left and right sides don't match. I wonder if the carving went all around and parts have broken off?

 

could that just be the angle of the photo...........

 

That thing is seriously pretty. That Peranakan piece....yowza, talk about "high style".

 

Would it be more for a foyer/hall table vs vanity/dressing room?

 

ummmm..no !

 

Th

Thanks for the pics and the link! I agree the style looks very similar. When I can find out exactly where the piece originated it will help with the style. I believe it's from Sumatra which could explain the similarity to Singaporean pieces.

 

Peranakan culture wasn't just Singapore. It was along the straits of the spice route, from the Malacca Strait, passing Sumatra, Malaysia, Singapore, Java, and on to the Madura Strait between Java and Madura. The Straits were the hub of the spice route, so Chinese traders have settled along those shores for centuries. I have distant Peranakan ancestors from Tuban in East Java, who were accepted into the royal court of the Javanese Majapahit empire.
If this vanity table is teak, it could very well have been made in Java. East Java was, and still is, the prime source of teak in Indonesia. And Javanese carving is more elegant and frilly than Sumatran. The best carving is from the island of Madura, which is considered East Javanese. Like coastal Java, Madura has a large Chinese population.
Right now I am assuming it could be Peranakan, but Dutch colonial furniture can have those elaborate carvings as well, and a vanity table is a European tradition, rather than East Asian. To complicate matters, the Indonesian and Peranakan upper classes adopted European furniture as well.
Dutch colonial:




Since the Peranakan and Dutch communities and the Javanese upper classes were in close contact with one another, the styles have influenced each other. For instance, the Javanese women's dress of kain-kebaya was adopted and adapted by Dutch colonial women (made more sense than hot corsets), and after another adaption became known as the Peranakan Nyonya-kebaya style.

Both Peranakan and Dutch Colonial furniture are collectible. I would have to see more detail of the carving to know which style it is.

 

The Peranakan,of which AJ & and I are both descendant, lived in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. THeir furniture and other things (clothes, jewelry etc etc etc) all have a very distinct style. Once you're familiar with it, you'll start noticing it everywhere. Peranakan furniture would definitely command a premium, but only for very good pieces. And that's saying a lot. As AJ says, both the Javanese-Chinese and Straits Chinese (Peranakan) communities in Indonesia & Malaya/Singapore, heavily influenced each other. there was a lot of crossover.

Peranakan furniture I've seen was often richly embellished, carved and ornamented, with stuff like Mother of Pearl, and slabs or sheets of marble and such, and usually of dark or medium-coloured woods. Some of it was European-influenced, due toBritish & Dutch contact in the 1600s-1900s.

 

Any Jewlery, looks like the original owner was Javan, so good call. Kind of reminds me more of French than Dutch influence though...

 

The Dutch Colonial style started in the Dutch colonies in India and Sri Lanka, and was exported to Java where the Javanese and Madurese carvers were added to the mix. In the beginning, 17th-18th centuries, many of the craftspeople were from the Dutch colonies on the Malabar coast and Sri Lanka.
The French had no influence in the Straits area.
But Dutch Dutch furniture is not just peasant furniture. There was elegant furniture as well, this is Dutch Dutch:

 

I would want to check the interior to see whether the secondary parts were made of a different wood; the "wear" patterns; and whether construction looks "old." But that's only if the actual age of the piece matters to you.