{"id":277207,"date":"2026-05-07T18:19:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T16:19:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amaruantiques.com\/?post_type=product&p=277207"},"modified":"2026-05-09T11:20:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T09:20:13","slug":"antique-chinese-wooden-basket-with-iron-straps-china-circa-1900-am29038-18","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/amaruantiques.stg.uzero.cat\/en\/antique-furniture\/antique-chinese-wooden-basket-with-iron-straps-china-circa-1900-am29038-18\/","title":{"rendered":"Antique Chinese wooden basket with iron straps \u2013 China, circa 1900"},"content":{"rendered":"

Antique Chinese wooden basket with iron straps<\/strong>, of square plan and plain faces, reinforced at the edges and corners with oxidised hand-forged iron straps<\/em> and finished with a twisted iron handle<\/em> on one side. It originates from China, from the late Qing period, where this type of vessel \u2014 known as a dou (\u6597) \u2014 was used as a standardised grain measure in northern rural markets and granaries.<\/p>\n

Grain measures were part of the daily equipment of Chinese agricultural commerce until the early twentieth century. The iron-strapped examples answered the demands of intensive use in open-air markets: the metal reinforcement protected the edges from the repeated impact of the scoop and the corners from wear under load. The deep rust on the hardware documents decades of exposure and continued handling.<\/p>\n

It is built in solid wood, with boards joined by exposed dovetail at the four corners. The straps run from top to bottom, fastened with hand-forged square-headed nails, and extend in flanges folded over the base. The lateral handle, in twisted iron, keeps its original anchoring and allows the basket to be carried in one hand.<\/p>\n

The patina is especially intense on this example, with the wood deeply darkened by decades of handling, deep rust on the straps and small material losses at certain edges. Every mark preserves the material trace of its commercial function \u2014 this is not a retroactively decorative object, but a working piece weathered by use.<\/p>\n

It sits naturally in wabi-sabi, japandi or contemporary rustic interiors. It works as a vessel for candles or pinecones in an entrance, as a log basket beside a fireplace, or as a standalone object on a sideboard, where the rusted straps add a discreet graphic accent.<\/p>\n

Details<\/strong><\/p>\n