This antique sideboard in solid elm, with two flush doors and a shaped apron, is a storage piece from northern China around 1950.
Low sideboards from North of China were everyday companions in rural homes: they provided enough storage for textiles, tableware or tools without crowding the room. The case set on a shaped apron kept the contents away from dust gathering on earthen floors.
The structure is built with blind mortise-and-tenon joinery, free of visible nails, and closes with butt-jointed elm panels. The flush doors swing on wooden pivots and are secured with original wrought-iron rings. A small lower rebate doubles as a secondary pull and breathing notch.
The patina reaches the pale straw tone of elm washed by time, with strong grain and faint dark zones that lend depth to the surface. Small chips at the front and softened edges reinforce the piece’s honest character.
It works as a living-room sideboard, a low TV cabinet or a long console along a wall. Its quiet volume and shaped apron blend naturally into wabi-sabi, japandi or rustic-contemporary interiors without losing presence.
Details
- Materials and techniques: Solid elm wood; mortise-and-tenon joinery; flush doors with wrought-iron ring pulls
- Place of origin: China
- Period: Mid-twentieth century
- Date of manufacture: Circa 1950
- Dimensions: Length 144 cm – Depth 40 cm – Height 83 cm
- Condition: Good. Wear consistent with age and use.
This piece is part of the curated collection of Amaru Antiques, Barcelona.
ONE OF A KIND PIECE
