How to identify the basic knowledge of old mahogany furniture for novices

What is Old Mahogany? Old mahogany, Gu.

As the name suggests, it is a mahogany that has been experienced for a long time.

In the national standard for mahogany, the traditional mahogany in China should be a kind of sorrel wood, that is, Sandalwood Cochinensis. It is mainly produced in Laos, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries. Before the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, there were also in China, but now the molding trees that can be used for furniture manufacturing are basically extinct.

Its wood is hard, delicate, can sink in water, generally has to grow for hundreds of years before it can be used, the color is purple and red, the texture is clear and varied, and the structure is fine. The most obvious thing that distinguishes it from other woods is that its wood grain is often interspersed with dark brown or black stripes in the deep red, giving it an antique feel. Its wood is large, with slender brown eyes, and its relative density is between red sandalwood and huanghuali.

Many consumers lack understanding of mahogany furniture knowledge, in the media will often see unscrupulous manufacturers with new mahogany as old mahogany to deceive consumers reports, in fact, mahogany not only has new and old differences, and the value of new and old mahogany is very different, in use will also find that the quality gap is also very large. Understand the knowledge of mahogany furniture, learn how to distinguish when buying furniture, and try to avoid being deceived.

Old mahogany refers to mahogany that has passed hundreds of years after it has been cut. The current old mahogany generally refers to the mahogany imported from Nanyang in the middle of the Qing Dynasty. Because the old mahogany is full of wax, it only needs to be polished and rubbed with wax, which can be smooth, lubricated, durable, and give people a pure and subtle beauty.

Therefore, furniture made of old mahogany is generally protected by wax rather than lacquer, as is the case with rosewood.

The reason why there is a saying about old mahogany is that over the years after cutting, the internal structure of mahogany has also quietly changed, the structure will become more and more compact, the hardness and relative density will become higher and higher, and the ability to resist deformation will become stronger and stronger. It is also very different from the new mahogany in terms of color, texture and other characteristics.

Because of the many properties of old mahogany, such as rich wax and purple-red color, which are similar to red sandalwood, old mahogany and huanghuali and red sandalwood are listed as three special woods for the court in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Generally speaking, the color of old mahogany is darker, most of them are purple-red, and some colors are similar to red sandalwood, but the color is lighter, the texture is delicate, the brown eyes are significantly less than the new mahogany, and the feel is comfortable. The color of new mahogany is generally red yellow, and the wood grain and color have a "tender" feeling compared with the old mahogany, and the texture and feel are not as good as the old mahogany.

Texture is only one of the ways to identify mahogany furniture, of course, many times it is difficult to identify from the texture alone, other methods are smell, see the density (can sink in water), soak in water to see fluorescence, look at oiliness, look at the eye and so on. Judging from the texture alone, your texture may be grassy rosewood, mahogany veneer is not excluded, and it may also be imitation mahogany paint. For more specific methods, landlords can check out my blog.