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Subject:Re: Huanghuali
Posted By: Kirkwood Paterson Sat, Sep 29, 2012
Anybody who has the gumption to tell you this timber is oak... preposterous!
The term huanghuali is subsequent to significant abuse. It refers to a wide variety of Asian Dalbergia & Pterocarpus, and related 'nomen conservorandum' hardwoods that have changed colour from the dark hue when first worked, to the warm golden color they become as a result of significant exposure to sunlight. This is a simple concept & perfectly easy to understand. There never used to be any misunderstanding about it when huanghuali pieces had comparable FMV to English mahoganies. The fact that English mahoganies & other hardwoods have suffered depreciation over previous yrs; whereas Chinese hardwoods been left to appreciate, should not mean the entire meaning of this highly generalized term should change completely. The term itself lacks the sophistication to suit the application.
Something to remember is the majority of these high density timbers are very very dark, in fact some used as natural dies. All timber will bleach out naturally unless kept in a dungeon, but it takes a high density timber significantly longer to become light than a deciduous timber, like a walnut, or a mahogany. The implication used to be that if the timber had become very light, it must be extremely old, say 400 / 500 yrs or so, far older than any other pieces of furniture extant on the open market. Thus huanghuali - natural huanghuali that is, for remember it is possible to accelerate the process chemically - was significantly more desirable than huali, given that by default it is OLDER!
Why the market seems to have forgotten this very simple & workable concept is beyond me.
At any rate I will stop hankering on about it now. Your piece of furniture IS Dalbergia / Pterocarpus / related genera. It is bleached. If the bleaching is natural, you can call it huanghuali with clear conscience. If you post images of the entire piece of furniture, including a few of the underside; and one of the underside of the foot, I should very quickly be able to tell you whether your item is real or not.
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