Definition:
Zitan is a member of the rosewood family, botanically classified in the Pterocarpus genus. Virtually unknown in the West for a long time, it is possibly the most prized wood among tropical hardwoods because of its rarity. Although the zitan tree is not extinct, it is very slow growing and the growth is confined to southern China, Indochina and islands in the Indian Ocean.
Since zitan trees grow very slowly, the wood has always been in short supply. It is rare to find antique furniture made from zitan, and because of its rarity when items do become available they usually fetch very high prices, going up to hundreds of thousands for unusual antique pieces. Recently Qianlong's throne fetched a record price of $11,068,193 at a Sotheby's auction.
Zitan is an extremely dense wood, so dense in fact that it cannot stay afloat in water. It appears blackish-purple to blackish-red in color. Its color darkens over time giving the wood a distinctive deep coloring. Because of its natural beautiful coloring, zitan is almost never painted, but polished or finished with clear lacquer. The texture of the wood grain is very fine making it suitable for intricate carving.
The use of zitan for furniture was especially favored by by the Ming and Qing dynasties. The demand grew to such an extent during that time, that at one point even young growth was cut down to make furniture leading to zitan becoming almost extinct. Qianlong, the fourth emperor of the Qing dynasty, took special measures to protect existing stores of zitan, which were kept in the warehouses of the Imperial Workshop. The use of zitan was scrupulously monitored and restricted to the Palace Workshops. Qianlong gave special instructions to avoid any waste of the palace zitan supply, even losing his temper when zitan was used in a less important project instead of some other wood.
