This antique chest of drawers in elm wood features two doors with a perimeter frame and a recessed central field, over a simple lower apron. It originates from northern China, from the late Qing dynasty, where elm was worked using traditional mortise-and-tenon joinery.
Compact Chinese chest of drawers belonged to the standard domestic furniture of the north. Their accessible height and front without added decoration placed them in intermediate rooms — hallway, antechamber, kitchen — where function prevailed over representation. The sober two-door structure with solid sides is a very stable typology during the nineteenth century and early twentieth.
The body is built in solid elm. The front comprises two identical doors with a profiled perimeter frame and a recessed central field. The sides are solid. The lower apron is plain and the legs continue square to the floor. The pulls are circular hand-forged iron rings. The construction is traditional Chinese mortise-and-tenon, without metal fasteners.
The patina keeps a warm natural tone with the elm grain visible. The top surface shows the natural figure of the wood and small longitudinal cracks consistent with age. The most exposed areas have acquired a darker tone through handling. The hardware presents stable oxidation.
With its 89 cm height and almost square plan, this sideboard works as a storage piece in hallways, entrances, bedrooms and intermediate rooms. It suits wabi-sabi, japandi, contemporary rustic and Asian-inspired interiors.
Details
- Dimensions: Length 91 cm – Width 40 cm – Height 89 cm
- Style: Qing Dynasty
- Materials and techniques: Solid elm; hand-forged iron hardware; traditional Chinese mortise-and-tenon joinery; aged natural finish.
- Place of origin: China
- Period: Late Qing dynasty / Early Republic
- Date of manufacture: Circa 1930
- Condition: Good. Warm natural patina with the elm grain visible. Wear consistent with age and use.
This piece is part of the curated collection of Amaru Antiques, Barcelona.
ONE OF A KIND PIECE
