Curtis Evarts, Seeking Plain Nature of Ming Furniture

Curtis Evarts is an American with a Chinese name, Ke Tisi (柯惕思), meaning clear thinking. Evarts is a collector and researcher of traditional Chinese furniture. The 1980s and 1990s saw the golden age of collection and research of Ming furniture abroad. Evarts is a witness of the collection fad. In 1988, Evarts began to turn his attention to ancient Chinese furniture. He collected some hardwood Chinese furniture made of red sandalwood and scented wood, and was mesmerized. He visited major museums and libraries worldwide to check documents, seek pictures, and observe genuine ancient Chinese furniture. He even went to the hardwood furniture factory in Hong Kong several times to carry out on-the-spot investigation.

From 1990 to 1996, Evarts took the post of curator of a traditional Chinese furniture museum in California, which provided him with the chance to plan some significant collection activities on traditional Chinese hardwood furniture. From 1990 to 1994, Evarts also worked as an editor for a quarterly academic periodical on traditional Chinese furniture, to which he contributed many articles.

In 1997, Evarts moved to Taipei to further his study and work on traditional Chinese furniture. He planned Taiwan's first exhibition of Ming and Qing furniture collections, which created an exchange craze among ancient furniture collectors and aficionados alike.

Now, Evarts sojourns in Shanghai, and independently carries out study and consultancy work in the field of ancient Chinese furniture. He even runs a traditional Chinese furniture store, Yi Shan Ju.

Otherwise, Yi Shan Ju is mainly engaged in academic exchanges, and cultural and art education. The store's business service is a sideline. Its name Shan Ju (Residence of Kindness) is from a wooden plaque in Huizhou. The name can be traced back to the text of Tao Te Ching, "The best virtue is like water's. Water benefits everything in the world but never contends its own contribution."

Observers are intrigued as to how a foreign researcher like Evarts learns about ancient Chinese furniture. Apart from learning Chinese and reading English versions of Chinese books, Evarts collects a huge number of ancient woodblock prints. He observes the fine changes of furniture in the pictures of daily life in ancient China.

In Evarts' view, the collected articles are similar to people: Each item of furniture has its own personality, sometimes it's like a naive girl, sometimes like a lusty man. Evarts thinks that furniture, like people, is produced with a plain unvarnished nature but as time goes by, it absorbs elements around it, which changes its nature. He likes simple furniture with a good heart, in particular Ming-style furniture.