Tall Chinese sideboard in solid pine wood, with two doors and two inner shelves decorated, originally from Gansu province and dated toward 1930. An elegant provincial piece, sitting between a tall bedroom cabinet and a decorative living-room sideboard, representative of north-western Chinese furniture (Gansu) in its most refined vertical reading.
In traditional homes of Gansu, tall sideboards presided over master bedrooms or main rooms, where fine textiles, personal clothing and daily-value objects were stored. The vertical proportion — nearly one metre in height — and the organisation of two doors and drawers offer logical compartmentalisation. The subtle geometric carvings reflect the region’s refined taste, seeking elegance without excessive ornament. Pine was Gansu’s predilect timber.
It is built in solid pine with frame-and-panel fronts, two upper doors and two lower drawers separated by a transom. The pulls are original forged-iron rings on circular plates, and the legs, of square section with slight taper, extend above the body forming typical lateral shoulders of Chinese provincial repertoire.
The patina is warm and very uniform: the pine retains a settled honey-brown tone, with entirely legible grain and soft matte sheen polished by time. The carvings maintain all their definition and the hardware retains stable oxidation. The structure is sound and all doors and drawers operate correctly.
For its vertical scale and restrained decorated front, it sits naturally in wabi-sabi, japandi, Mediterranean, eclectic or Asian-inspired interiors, where it works as a tall bedroom cabinet, a storage piece in a living room, a piece with presence in an entrance hall or a decorative piece in a gallery. Its elegant proportion integrates easily into serene compositions.
Details
- Dimensions: Width: 159 cm Depth: 40 cm Height: 94 cm
- Style: Chinese provincial furniture, Gansu tradition
- Materials and techniques: Solid pine; original forged-iron hardware
- Place of origin: Gansu, China
- Period: First third of the twentieth century
- Date of manufacture: Circa 1930
- Condition / Notes: Good. Warm natural patina, intact carvings, functional hardware.
This piece is part of the collection of Amaru Antiques, Barcelona.
ONE OF A KIND PIECE
