Antique low sideboard in pine wood, Chinese provincial furniture with vermilion lacquer originating from Gansu and dated circa 1930. Originates from Gansu, in northwestern China, from the early 20th century, where local pine was worked using mortise-and-tenon joinery without nails, lacquered in vermilion across front and sides.
In the Hexi corridor, long low sideboards lacquered in vermilion occupied the main room as auxiliary furniture and as a structural chromatic element of the interior. Red, the colour of good fortune in Chinese culture, marked domestic spaces of family and ceremonial character.
Built in solid pine using traditional mortise-and-tenon joinery, without nails. The case articulates three central drawers with iron latch-style pulls, an open niche above the drawers and two lateral doors that occupy the full height of the piece, also with iron pulls. The sides are resolved as solid lateral plates, without exposed legs. The vermilion lacquer covers front and sides.
The patina retains the original vermilion, today deeper and darker through the natural oxidation of the pigments over a century. The sheen is matte. The surface shows soft losses, fine craquelure and abrasions in contact areas exposing the wood beneath. The structure remains solid.
It fits naturally in minimalist with a chromatic accent, wabi-sabi or contemporary rustic interiors. It works as a low TV sideboard, a bench-sideboard in a wide entrance or a horizontal console facing a long sofa. The vermilion lacquer gives it a singular chromatic presence within sober spaces.
Details
- Dimensions: Length 154 cm – Width 22 cm – Height 32 cm
- Style: Chinese northwestern provincial furniture
- Materials and techniques: Solid pine, vermilion lacquer; mortise-and-tenon joinery without nails, three central drawers, two lateral doors, iron latch-style pulls
- Place of origin: Gansu, China
- Period: Early Republic of China (circa 1930)
- Date of manufacture: Circa 1930
- Condition / Notes: Sound structure. Original vermilion lacquer with soft losses and fine craquelure. Wear consistent with age and use.
This piece is part of the collection of Amaru Antiques, Barcelona.
ONE OF A KIND PIECE
