Antique small Japanese chest with drawers, of rectangular form and three drawers of varying size at the front, with hand-forged iron hardware and a hinged top. It originates from Japan, from the Meiji period (1868–1912), when small merchant chests — called zenibako — were a fixture on the counter of any urban shop.
The zenibako was the merchant’s box-chest in Japan: a compact structure for storing coin, account documents and small personal effects. The hinged top allowed direct control of the contents, while the lower drawers ordered coins by denomination or by day. The hardware, solid and visible, signalled the merchant’s standing.
It is built in solid wood, with fronts and sides nailed and the drawers joined by glue and panel-set base. The hardware — keyplates, escutcheons, S-shaped handles and pins — is hand-forged iron, riveted to the front with square nails. The top, mounted on two flat pin hinges, retains its original ringbolt closure.
The patina is dense and honest, with the wood deeply darkened by decades of handling, stable rust on the hardware and small losses to the original lacquer. Every mark preserves the material trace of its commercial use.
It sits naturally in wabi-sabi, japandi or contemporary industrial interiors. It works as a tabletop chest for keys and correspondence in an entrance, as a jewellery box on a chest of drawers, or as a standalone object on a sideboard, where the iron hardware acts as the only graphic accent.
Details
- Dimensions: Length 23 cm – Width 32 cm – Height 22 cm
- Style: Traditional Japanese, Meiji period
- Materials and techniques: Solid wood with hand-forged iron hardware; nailed assembly with glued joints; original ringbolt closure.
- Place of origin: Japan
- Period: Meiji period (1868–1912)
- Date of manufacture: Circa 1900
- Condition: Good. Dense patina and intact hardware. Wear consistent with age and use.
This piece is part of the curated collection of Amaru Antiques, Barcelona.
ONE OF A KIND PIECE
