This antique Chinese papier-mâché basket with polychrome floral motifs and green vertical bands is a domestic container from northern China around 1930. The piece bears no maker’s mark and is described by typology and region.
Papier-mâché baskets were common household items in rural Chinese homes, used to store seeds, threads, paper or small everyday treasures. Their light, inexpensive build sat alongside wooden furniture and completed domestic storage with pine boxes and ceramic jars.
The body is built up from successive layers of glued paper over a clay or wicker mould that is later removed, leaving a rigid, swelling volume. The surface is then dressed with printed papers — orange chrysanthemums, red checkered ribbons and vertical green bands — sealed with a final coat of size.
The patina shows the natural ageing of paper, with cream tones and small losses along the upper rim revealing older layers underneath. The printed colours retain all their vibrancy, with no retouching or modern intervention.
It is a strongly decorative object — ideal as a remote-control caddy, magazine holder or display piece on a sideboard. It sits well in wabi-sabi, japandi or rustic-contemporary interiors, playing the lightness of paper against the weight of wood and stone.
Details
- Materials and techniques: Polychrome papier-mâché; successive glued paper layers; floral printed surface
- Place of origin: China
- Period: Republican period
- Date of manufacture: Circa 1930
- Dimensions: Length 25 cm – Depth 25 cm – Height 29 cm
- Condition: Good. Wear consistent with age and use. No maker’s labels retained.
This piece is part of the curated collection of Amaru Antiques, Barcelona.
ONE OF A KIND PIECE
