Centuries-old furniture withstands the test of time

A huanghuali two-door cabinet on show.

Chinese animation characters exhibited in Shanghai

A glimpse at the art lost on 9/11

Wang's books include Ming Dynasty Furniture Appreciation and Classic Chinese Furniture: Ming and Early Qing Dynasties. They're recognized as rediscoveries of antique furniture in China.

In modern times, Westerners began collecting and researching Ming furniture before the Chinese.

Foreign scholars and diplomats began collecting them in the 1930s. In 1944, German scholar Gustav Ecke published Chinese Domestic Furniture, the first book in any language on Ming furniture.

The style's appeal hails from its minimalism and Bauhaus-like lines that hide the complexity of mortise and tenon joints, Qiao says.

"It's miraculous that artisans centuries ago could produce furniture that fits modern life," Qiao says.

"It proves Ming furniture can withstand the test of time and transcend distinctions between Eastern and Western aesthetics."

The reasons the era was an apex in furniture craftsmanship include the lift on previously banned maritime trade, which brought precious tropical hardwoods like huanghuali wood from Southeast Asia, and the literati's involvement in furniture design.