Low cabinet with a single door in elm wood, originating from Shanxi province in northern China and dating to circa 1930. A piece of domestic scale and traditional craft, bridging the auxiliary storage cabinet and the bedside table, representative of provincial northern Chinese furniture.
Shanxi province was for centuries a prosperous region built on trade and banking, and developed a recognisable furniture tradition: robust forms, low proportions and a measured decorative vocabulary. Cabinets like this one were placed in the main room or beside the kang — the heated platform of northern homes — to hold clothing, tableware or everyday utensils.
It is built in elm (yumu), a wood prized in northern China for its expressive grain and resilience. The front door carries a carved cartouche as the only ornamental gesture of the piece. The front retains its original hand-forged iron ring pull and lock plate. The sides, made of framed panels, reinforce the sense of solidity. The whole structure is joined entirely by mortise and tenon, without nails.
The patina is the piece’s most eloquent trait: a warm surface, darkened by use, with rub marks and fine age cracks on the front and sides. These traces do not compromise its stability and bear witness to an authentic object that lived in a real home before reaching the gallery.
Given its contained scale and its quiet character, the cabinet settles naturally into wabi-sabi, japandi or contemporary rustic interiors, where it works as a bedside table, a small entryway cabinet, a low media stand or a storage piece beside a sofa. Its warm tones speak especially well with natural materials and soft light.
Details
- Dimensions: Width: 64 cm Depth: 40 cm Height: 65 cm
- Style: Chinese provincial furniture, rustic Shanxi style
- Materials and techniques: Elm wood (yumu); traditional mortise-and-tenon joinery; original hand-forged iron hardware
- Place of origin: Shanxi, China
- Period: Late Qing dynasty – Republic of China period
- Date of manufacture: Circa 1930
- Condition: Good. Retains its original patina with wear consistent with age and use. Original hardware in place
This piece is part of the curated collection of Amaru Antiques, Barcelona.
ONE OF A KIND PIECE
