People's health care should conform to people's nature, and the maintenance of furniture should also conform to the nature of wood, that is, the "temper" of furniture: every household in the north has heating in winter, and people are comfortable to be close to heating, but furniture should be far away from heating to avoid excessive shrinkage of wood and cracking due to excessive temperature.
When summer comes, it often rains, so furniture should be avoided by the window to avoid getting wet in rainy days and damaging the surface and mortise.
Many furniture are also afraid of the wind, especially furniture with surfaces, such as tables, boxes and cabinets, which are prone to crack and warp after being blown at the tuyere for a long time due to the influence of "dry shrinkage and wet expansion".
Furniture is no better than a camp bed, so you can toss it around. Therefore, furniture should not be moved violently, so it must be handled with care, not too often, otherwise it will easily fall apart.
Furniture can't be kept in one place all the time. As the saying goes, "running water doesn't rot, and the walls of the family don't rot." With the change of seasons, the placement of furniture should be adjusted appropriately. If you keep it in one place, it will rot easily. I often see such ancient furniture: the front and side are exquisite, and the side against the wall is terrible, just like a stunning beauty burned half of her face, which makes people feel infinite regret. ...
In short, for people, the temper of furniture is "diligent and easy to disperse, long quiet and easy to rot"; For the weather, the temper of furniture is "only gradual change, no sudden change". Collectors must suit their own interests and conform to the nature of wood, and exquisite ancient furniture can last for a long time.
"Shun Mu" is the purpose and concept of furniture maintenance. Here are some specific maintenance techniques.
Maintenance method 2: How to prevent the watchcase from collapsing?
There is a long, thick and heavy box called bookcase box, also called several boxes. Its case surface and legs are not integrated, but detachable. Commonly known as "a piece of jade" in the north and "stalk board" in the south, it was popular in the late Qing Dynasty, and people generally used it to place heavy chimes or rock bonsai.
Because the items on the case are heavy, there is a lot of pressure on the case. Because both ends of the box are supported by box legs, it is not difficult, but the middle of the box is suspended, which is in danger of collapse after a long time. In order to avoid this phenomenon, the case surface should be turned over every one year or half a year, so that the slightly curved case surface will be restored to its original state by changing the direction of force.
Maintenance method 3: painting
Due to the humid climate in the south, in order to prevent moisture, the surface of Soviet-made furniture is basically covered with a thin layer of raw lacquer. If the paint is brushed thin, it will be very transparent, which can prevent the invasion of moisture without covering up the beauty of the wood itself. Su Zuo furniture is characterized by internal and external painting and internal and external protection. Widely used furniture is also painted. Painting is difficult for ordinary people, so you can ask professionals to do it. Beijing hardwood furniture is not painted, but only a layer of wax is burned on the surface. Because the climate in the north is dry, there is no need to paint, and after waxing, the wax on the surface of furniture will penetrate into the wood after long-term repeated friction and oxidation to produce patina. Patina, also called "wood rust", is a term borrowed from bronzes. It is very valuable in ancient furniture, which is both beautiful and generous, and can protect furniture. The surface of furniture with patina can't be scalded by boiling water, nor can it be stained with highly soluble liquid, such as gasoline, otherwise it will destroy patina.
Maintenance method 4: How to maintain the desktop?
There is an old saying: "You can't make hot tea on a cold table." This sentence can be said to conform to the nature of wood, because the ambient temperature for storing furniture cannot be quenched and heated. Such as stone furniture (such as tables, screens, etc. ) It should not be placed outdoors in winter or exposed to the sun in summer to avoid cracking.
Dining tables used by ancient people are often very well protected. Why? Because the ancients didn't eat and drink tea like people do now, the leftovers were piled up on the table and stained. They eat and drink tea on trays to protect the desktop. If a servant girl or page accidentally spills tea or rice soup on the table, she will be reprimanded.
Oil stains on the desktop can be wiped with alcohol. If there is no alcohol, you can also wipe it with highly alcoholic liquor. This is a common method used by big families in Beijing in the old days.
Maintenance method 5: Match the table cover.
In ancient times, expensive furniture was equipped with table towels, most of which were made of cloth. For example, in the Qing Dynasty, the imperial palace used blue cloth as a tablecloth instead of satin (it is wrong for some official dramas to use satin as a tablecloth), mainly because the water absorption of cloth is better than satin. Blue cloth not only absorbs water, but also absorbs dust. At that time, it was called "Yin Dan Shi Lin Bu".
Blue tablecloths are usually dark blue edges and light blue cores, or black edges and blue cores, which are used to match expensive black and red furniture. Warm colors and cool colors are in sharp contrast, which is very layered.
Maintenance method 6: keep dry and cope with seasonal changes.
In areas with obvious seasonal changes, the maintenance of furniture is extremely particular. For example, after dog days, spring and autumn, etc. When the climate changes from wet to dry or from dry to wet, you should open the cupboard door and open the drawer in time to synchronize the wind inside and outside the furniture to avoid warping because one side is too dry or too wet.
However, when the wind blows, the furniture should not be exposed to the sun or placed in the tuyere, but should be placed in a cool and dry place. Because too much sunlight will destroy the material of wooden furniture, resulting in wood cracking or warping, we should try our best to ensure that ancient furniture is not exposed to the sun, while maintaining moderate dryness.