Collector Marcus Flacks on Chinese art, objects and what he considers ‘the greatest furniture produced ever, anywhere, at any time’

It is an unseasonably hot day in April, and the windows stand wide open in the central London apartment of Marcus and Debby Flacks. Hazy light bathes the space in warm amber tones, casting long, languid shadows across a Chinese huanghuali table dating from the late 16th century. In the refined world of East Asian antiquities, the rarity of such a piece is well known, although even Marcus admits he did not fully realise how exceptional it was when he first acquired it.

There is Chinese furniture — and then there is huanghuali. Made during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, it is, in Marcus’s words, ‘the greatest furniture produced ever, anywhere, at any time’. He first made this claim as an ambitious dealer in his twenties; more than 30 years on, after countless pieces have passed through his hands, he says he has found no reason to revise it.

‘What I so admire about classical Chinese furniture is the integrity and unique brilliance created by the convergence of its three main elements: design, material and craftsmanship,’ he writes in the introduction to his book on the subject.

For more than three decades, the couple have been respected figures in the field. They began in the early 1990s. ‘We caught a wave,’ says Marcus, with characteristic understatement. ‘There were only a few dealers, mainly in Hong Kong. We were new and naive — I don’t think they gave us a second thought.’ Others disagree. Kate Hunt, Christie’s international specialist, Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, puts it more plainly: ‘Marcus has an exacting eye,’ she says. ‘His knowledge is immense.’

The huanghuali table in the apartment is a remarkable survivor. One of many pieces created for the Chinese elite between the late Ming (1368-1644) and early Qing (1644-1912) dynasties, it was crafted from a tropical hardwood ideal for technically ambitious forms. There are two principal types used in classical Chinese furniture: the dark zitan, suited to elaborate carving; and the paler, honey-toned huanghuali. Zitan was reserved for the court, while merchants and scholars favoured the warmer hues of huanghuali. Today, the supply of both woods is tightly restricted, making the material almost as valuable as the object itself.

The traditional style is restrained and understated. ‘The first time I saw a piece of huanghuali furniture, I wasn’t sure what I was looking at,’ Marcus recalls. ‘It was so modern I thought it might be Art Deco. That was what sparked my interest.’

Ironically, that very restraint may have helped classical Chinese furniture survive the storm of Mao’s rule. As China declined as a major power in the 19th century, craftsmen increasingly catered to European tastes, producing more ornate, heavily lacquered pieces that conformed to Western ideas of ‘Chinese’ design, rather than the elegant simplicity of earlier imperial work.

With the outbreak of the Cultural Revolution in 1966, student factions attacked the ‘Four Olds’: old culture, habits, ideas and customs. A decade of turmoil followed: schools closed, temples were destroyed, artworks were burned and intellectuals were persecuted.

Yet classical hardwood furniture was largely spared. ‘It was practical and durable,’ says Flacks. ‘They looked like good, solid, useful objects.’ Many huanghuali and zitan tables and chairs were simply repurposed and redistributed across the country.

When China began to open up in the 1980s, a small number of dealers set out to source these pieces from rural areas. ‘They were often in poor condition,’ Marcus recalls. ‘It wasn’t uncommon to find a table with the legs cut down. The original polish and patina were frequently lost, so the pieces looked unremarkable at first glance.’

At the time, there was only a modest market, centred mainly in Hong Kong and the United States. The couple opened a showroom in New York. ‘We didn’t expect many visitors. The gallery was on the sixth floor of a building with a terrible elevator, surrounded by nail salons and hairdressers. One day, a woman came in — completely by chance — and handed me her card. All I saw was the word “museum”.’ She turned out to be Agnes Gund, president of the Museum of Modern Art, who became an important client. ‘It was a lesson in how unpredictable this world can be.’

Marcus and Debby followed a simple strategy: to buy what they loved. ‘We always assumed that if something didn’t sell, we would have to live with it — so we made sure we liked it,’ Marcus explains. ‘Interestingly, whenever we bought something purely because we thought it would sell, it didn’t.’

At the same time, they developed an interest in scholars’ rocks — natural sculptures shaped by water erosion. There are three main types: ‘Taihu’ stones formed at the bottom of lakes; ‘Lingbi’ stones shaped in caves by underground water; and ‘Ying’ stones, known for their distinctive textures and forms.

‘I love them,’ says Marcus. ‘They’re like pure sculpture. What fascinates me is that they aren’t created by humans in the usual sense. Nature forms them, and humans simply select and present them. That makes them incredibly special.’

The couple were introduced to scholars’ rocks by the contemporary artist Liu Dan. ‘He is such an enigmatic figure, with a strong presence,’ says Marcus. ‘Among painters working with traditional Chinese techniques while expressing a contemporary vision, he is, in my view, one of the greatest of his generation — without question.’

On 12 May 2026, Christie’s in London will present The Flacks Family Collection II: Curtain Call, a sale of exceptional Chinese furniture, scholars’ rocks, works of art, Buddhist sculpture and contemporary ink paintings. Highlights include the huanghuali table, an ‘S-spindle’ low-back armchair, and rare paintings by Liu Dan.

The sale marks the couple’s retirement from the field. ‘I consider myself very fortunate to have lived through the greatest period in the history of scholarship and collecting of Chinese furniture,’ Marcus reflects. His focus is now on education. ‘I want to reconnect with younger audiences. Many traditional objects, such as Chinese brush pots, are no longer valued or collected. I want to reintroduce these traditions before they die out completely.’

The Flacks Family Collection II: Curtain Call is on view 7-11 May 2026 at Christie’s in London