How to identify south, southeast Asian furniture?

Hey all, this is a bit of a long shot, but might as well ask on a forum dedicated to antiques.

I'm a writer, working on a sci-fi book, and among the many unhinged ideas I had, one of them is identification of imported furniture at a glance.

If I wanted to identify the country of origin of basic wooden furniture, like cabinets, chairs, wardrobes, etc., modern or 20th century, what would I be looking for? What are the unique characteristics found on furniture from India, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, etc., that you look for, and that make you go, "Oh! That has to be 1960s Burma!"

Is it wood color? Carving method? Joints method? Metalwork?

Is it even possible, or is it just approximation, since many of southeast Asian countries share the same trees?

 

All the above.... mixed in with many years of experience , and book learning of styles and hands on touching....

Oh...& you'll luv this.... " never judge a book by it's cover "

Hardware can be swapped out...
table tops can be added or replaced..
pieces may be missing
& of course...Revival..... items made to look like period pieces....
large or small , over time some items may have been stripped... stained, or painted to suit a more modern look..

Yes....the type of wood used is an important part of identification as well....

So.... at a glance... off the cuff.... one has to be well practiced...well seasoned...with many years of training a good eye..... for that kind of snap identification to hold any value at all !!!

 

I didn't mention any marking on an item...... cuz your parameter of at a glance ... does not allow for a close up inspection of the furniture parts , that may hold valuable clues to it's origin.

Just sayin ....

 

Yes, they share the same trees, but they don't share the same culture or have had the same colonial influence.

And then there are regional differences. For instance, Bali and Madura are both small (groups of) islands in Indonesia, even neighbours, but their furniture styles are recognizably different.

 

Can you point me to some examples I can research myself?

 

what era?

 

And where from?
South and Southeast Asia is a huge part of the world, with over 2 billion people. India alone has a population of 1 1/2 billion.
Just imagine how many different styles there are in the entire South and Southeast Asian region.

 

Then 2nd half of 20th century, India, Vietnam and Indonesia.

 

When I research, I see what in-depth books are out there, and what I can pull from my library or inter-library loan. You might even ask your local librarian directly to help with your research hunt. They're a valuable resource if you have one, and usually happy to do a deep dive.

 

Short of spending lots of time and experience.... I think you were on the right track with this info:

Saw marks, including whether hand or mechanical (and if so, which type), finish, hardware, design motifs etc...

If you're looking for a nugget of authentic info or two to use in your writing, you might do better starting with a specific time place and style and then researching what are the defining characteristics of that specific type. Then you can 'reverse engineer' those details into your writing.

 

Now there's a super power!

 

Asian furniture covers an enormous spectrum.

Eras, woods, carving styles, decoration styles, shape, construction techniques, etc. You'd have to absorb a lot of information. Even within different Chinese cultural groups, for example, there's differences in furniture-styles.

 

"More accurate than an auctioneer! More knowledgeable than a lifetime collector! Written more on the subject than a professional dealer! It's Captain Whatsit!? Able to strike awe and wonder into the eyes of curious and confused collectors the world over!!"

 

So.... just 2 billion people and only a few hundred different cultures. That's all right then. How many decades have you got?

 

That is a much more realistic approach.

 

identification of imported furniture at a glance........

to us now.... a super power , taking years of study and an eye for what is seen...

but....
to go at this from a different angle.....

a science fiction writer could allow for an AI enhanced life form to have this ability by calling on terabytes of data stored in it's memory.....

That ' Door ' , can be opened..... easily !!!!

.

 

a science fiction writer could allow for an AI enhanced life form to have this ability by calling on terabytes of data stored......


.... on antiquers!

 

Maybe you've already tried Google searches, but if not, you could try searching something like "characteristics of modern india furniture", which included this website:
https://www.houseofjaipur.co/post/a...x5eJ_OS12G78Sz9peo_VCBDOG74kr0z7nTjh4NmnzJBTo

Or search Google images for "traditional indonesian [vietnamese] furniture."

The more you search/read online and look at photo examples, you might be able to come up with some information and key words you can use for your sci-fi book. But I suspect there are so many variables and similarities, that it might be next to impossible for anyone to look at a piece of furniture and say for certain that it's a "1960's Burma" cabinet or chair (for example).

Sorry, this probably isn't helpful.

 

Welcome to Antiquers, @dialanche !