Amanda Clark says her antiques business has thrived because overseas buyers see Hong Kong dealers as trustworthy and efficient

British designer Amanda Clark and American lawyer David Halperin, who shared an interest in early Chinese furniture, felt that if they dug deeper there would be an overseas market for such pieces - so long as they were compatible with a Western interior.

In 1982 the business partners founded Altfield Gallery, one of Hong Kong's first antique galleries to specialise in 18th century Chinese furniture. Today Altfield is a major dealer of antiques and collectables in Southeast Asia, with showrooms in Hong Kong and overseas. 

"When we started the business," explained Ms Clark, "very little (Chinese) style furniture appealed to Western tastes - it was too dark and heavy.   It would have been rare to see Chinese pieces shown in interior design magazines.

"As we began travelling in China we came across a simpler, more restrained family of furniture that seemed as good as much of the European solid wood furniture of a similar age. Chinese dealers at the time were completely uninterested in this other furniture. They would never have looked at a pine cabinet to store food in a kitchen for example, or a camphor clothes storage chest from the north, as it was not what they considered to be good furniture.

Worldwide appeal

"We felt sure that there would be an overseas market for the pieces we came across in the northern villages in particular, but knew it was important that the furniture would fit into Western interiors."

Deciding that people did not want the strong Chinese finish that was available at the time, the partners brought to Hong Kong a series of young English antique furniture restorers to train local craftsmen in their workshop. Some of those restorers remain with Altfield today.

From the start, as in today, they found that having a Hong Kong base gave their business a competitive edge. At a time when China was only just opening up and it was difficult for foreigners to move around or make business arrangements, Hong Kong proved to be the gateway. "We had a healthy group of dealers, tourists and designers buying from us in Hong Kong," Ms Clark said.

"Although doing business in China is much easier today, many overseas dealers still use their Hong Kong connections to purchase from - as they are trustworthy, efficient, often can work out payment schedules to suit them, and as Hong Kong is a duty free port, there is no complicated official paperwork or banking regulations. 

"There is a huge fake industry in China, and many people have been caught out by that. Our proximity to China means we can travel often to buy, and can edit the many thousands of pieces we come across down into dozens or hundreds of good pieces. We have workshops on the mainland these days to keep restoration costs low, and warehouses here in Hong Kong for the convenience of our visitors.

In vogue

"Today it's hard to find a design magazine that doesn't include some Chinese pieces. Our retail business has always had a strong client base in Hong Kong and this continues to be the largest part of our antique market, however we still send many containers to US and European dealer clients who trust the goods we select. We have partnership showrooms in London and Bangkok where our furniture is available to both retail and trade buyers.  Both these outlets are growing significantly.

"For many of our overseas clients, the honesty and efficiency of the Hong Kong market is the reason they continue to buy through us, rather than go direct to China sources.  In addition, there is a flourishing market here for other types of Chinese art and antiques such as early ceramics, stone, jade and painting....all categories where it can prove difficult to buy and ship out of the mainland.  There are no customs problems, no corruption or 'special' arrangements necessary from Hong Kong, and this is one of our strengths.

"Hong Kong also has a vibrant design community that enables talented young furniture and product designers to produce interesting new furniture drawings from Chinese and Western traditions, appealing to the international market. So Hong Kong is not just a resource for antique Chinese furniture, but also for today's Chinese furniture - many of our clients buy both."

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