Classical Chinese furniture has been collected avidly for several decades. It is shown as an object of art in museums throughout the world. However, seldom is it placed in a period house to show its usage, except as installations in museum exhibitions.

Oftentimes such installations are limited to a scholar's study, a bedroom and/ or a hall. The need for a comprehensive study on the interiors of a Chinese home has led to the publication of "Furnishing a Gracious Chinese Home" to explain the placement of furniture.

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In the present talk, Philip Mak will guide the audience through the interior of various rooms with three-dimensional illustrations and explain its inherent social implications, in the siheyuan (四合院) during the Ming and Qing periods (14th-early 20th century).

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About the speaker

Philip Mak (麥耀翔) was born in Hong Kong. He is a graduate of London University with degrees in Arts and Science. For over thirty-five years, he has held curatorial positions at the Hong Kong Museum of Art, the Art Museum of the Chinese University of Hong
Kong, the Tsui Art Museum, and the University Museum and Art gallery of the University of Hong Kong in succession. Also he has been an associate of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. He has organized many exhibitions on Western art, Chinese Art and Antiquities. Being an eloquent art historian and a trained art conservator, he has published many papers, catalogues and books. Among them he has written articles on :  "Chinese Wooden Chairs", " Chinese Wooden Tables", and a best seller of "Wooden Stands".  Currently he lives with his family in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.