The Palace Museum Collection: A Treasury of Ming & Qing Dynasty Palace Furniture (2 VOLUMES)

English text.; Hardcover (cloth with dust jacket in slipcase. Gilt on the outside text block.).; 23 x 30 cm.; 4 Kg.; 728 pages with colour illustrations throughout.; Used with signs of wear on the slipcase and on the dust jackets. Interior with minor signs of wear. Very good condition overall.; This book summarizes the author's thirty years of engagement with curatorial duties and research with the Ming and Qing dynasty palace furniture at the Palace Museum. It includes 455 of the finest works of Ming and Qing dynasty palace furniture, which is only about 5 percent of the entire collection. Selected upon the basis of category, materials and decoration, these works represent the best of the collection. Chapters 1, 2 3 and 8 introduce the origins of Ming and Qing palace furniture, stylistic characteristics, categories and outstanding highlights of the collection. Chapters 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9 analyze and display the joinery of Ming and Qing palace furniture, and its forms, decoration, workmanship and materials as well as arrangements and use. The intention is to provide the reader with a format with which he can delve into the study with overview as well as detail. All the plates and line drawings are numbered with Arabic numerals in accordance with the sequential order, and are also listed in the Appendix for the readers convenience. Chapters 8 and 9 contain the highlights of the book, and are those chapters where one can quickly assess the dignity, harmony and luxury of Ming and Qing palace furniture and its display.