Chinese Furniture - Wood & Materials

Throughout history chinese furniture has been constructed using a wide variety of woods, not necessarily indigenous to its borders. During the early Ming era varieties of fir and elm from within the Chinese interior were commonly used and it is timber from these tree families which Zenzu uses in the carpentry of its contemporary oriental furniture range.

The colour finish of our pieces determines which specialist timber is used in construction:

Wood used for Zenzu Natural Grain Brown pieces

All of Zenzu's Natural Grain Brown pieces are made with solid Yu-mu timbers. The variety is from the elm family and is mid-way between a hard wood and a soft wood. It is specifically used because of the attractive striations which appear when the wood is stained. The Natural Grain Brown pieces throughout the collection are stained to produce a carefully selected shade which balances the essence of chinese antique furniture with the versatility needed in a contemporary home.

Wood used for Zenzu Black Lacquer, Red Lacquer and Coloured Lacquer pieces:

Zenzu's lacquered pieces are all made from solid Shan-mu timber sections. The variety is native to China, from the fir family, and is particularly well suited to the multi-layered lacquering process. When compared to some of the other varieties historically used in Chinese furniture making it is also far less likely to crack and warp in the much drier English climate.

Zenzu Handles & Plates

All of the handles, wardrobe plates and pins throughout the Zenzu collection are made from brass. We deliberately ask our craftsmen to provide fittings with an aged brass appearance as we feel this is most in keeping with the range; however many of our customers choose to polish the brass so as to achieve a shiny, almost silver appearance.

Replenishable Sources

Zenzu not only uses woods which have always been used by traditional craftsmen, but which are also actively and easily sustained. All of the timbers that we use are from replenishable forests in the north of China; mostly in the province of Inner Mongolia.