This antique painted trunk in pine wood features a closed rectangular structure with hinged lid, hand-forged iron hinges and latch and an elaborate polychrome decoration with orange and red peonies, meander borders and a central panel. It originates from northern China, from the late Qing dynasty, where pine was worked using mortise-and-tenon joinery and finished with polychrome paint over a natural lacquer ground.
In traditional Chinese furniture, painted trunks were trousseau pieces — part of the bridal dowry — and stored textiles, festival clothes, documents and personal items inside. The painted decoration on the front, sides and lid was a statement of domestic prosperity and a vehicle for family auspicious symbolism.
The body is built in solid pine. The structure is a closed rectangular volume with a hinged lid mounted on hand-forged iron hinges, with a central iron latch. The joinery is mortise-and-tenon over an internal frame and the sides finish in a small lower moulding. The interior keeps the bare pine, while the exterior is fully painted.
The front presents a highly elaborate Tibetan-Mongolian polychrome decoration: peonies (mudan 牡丹) in orange and red clusters cover perimeter borders and the central panel, separated by bands with Chinese meander (huiwen 回紋) and vegetal motifs in gold. The peony symbolises wealth and honour; the meander, eternity. The palette combines orange, red, green, gold and black strokes over a dark ground, in the chromatic density characteristic of northern Chinese painted trunks.
With its contained size — around 85-90 cm in length — this trunk works as a bedside table, an auxiliary table, a low bench at the foot of a bed or a central decorative piece in an entrance. It suits wabi-sabi, contemporary rustic, japandi and Asian-inspired interiors, where it brings a historical and narrative accent.
Details
- Dimensions: Length 87 cm – Width 55 cm – Height 56 cm
- Style: Qing Dynasty
- Materials and techniques: Solid pine; hand-forged iron hardware; mortise-and-tenon joinery; painting over natural lacquer ground.
- Place of origin: China
- Period: Late Qing dynasty
- Date of manufacture: Circa 1900
- Condition: Good. Original paintwork and patina preserved with honest wear. Wear consistent with age and use.
This piece is part of the curated collection of Amaru Antiques, Barcelona.
ONE OF A KIND PIECE
