Low Chinese cabinet in solid elm, with very important structural presence, originally from Shandong and dated toward 1900. A functional important storage piece, sitting between a Chinese provincial cabinet and a transitional furniture, representative of Shandong Chinese provincial furniture from the nineteenth-twentieth century transition.
In living rooms and storage spaces of Shandong homes in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, low cabinets with structural presence served important decorative functions: they provided visible storage for textiles and prized objects, functioned as very strong visual elements beneath mirrors or framed works, offered architectural presence without excessive depth. The important height — 112 cm — allowed elegant visual presence. The width of 113 cm created a very assured square silhouette. The very compact depth — 40 cm — was ideal for spaces where depth was limited. Cabinets from Shandong of this proportion are specially rare.
It is constructed in solid local elm with a front probably organized in multiple panels or doors, and a proportioned top board. The sides maintain clear and very proportional lines. The legs, of square section, are appropriately scaled to the important height. Carpentry employs traditional mortise-and-tenon joinery without nails. The construction is completely honest and the structure is visibly very solid.
The patina preserves the character of aged Shandong elm: uniform and very warm settled tone, legible grain showing characteristic texture, soft matte sheen polished by time. The top board shows very discrete natural marks. The balanced vertical proportions are its strong visual identity.
Through its structural presence and vertical proportions, it sits naturally in interiors valuing visual security — contemporary rustic, eclectic, expansive spaces — where it functions as a cabinet, visible storage furniture, structural element that organizes space, or piece that creates absolute visual security.
Details
- Dimensions: Length 113 cm – Depth 40 cm – Height 112 cm
- Style: Chinese provincial furniture
- Materials and techniques: Solid elm; traditional mortise-and-tenon joinery
- Place of origin: Shandong, China
- Period: Late nineteenth – early twentieth century
- Date of manufacture: Circa 1900
- Condition / Notes: Good. Original warm patina, completely solid structure. Wear consistent with age and use.
This piece is part of the collection of Amaru Antiques, Barcelona.
ONE OF A KIND PIECE
