{"id":277346,"date":"2026-05-07T18:19:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T16:19:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amaruantiques.com\/?post_type=product&p=277346"},"modified":"2026-05-08T13:05:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T11:05:09","slug":"antique-japanese-tansu-with-drawers-and-iron-hardware-japan-circa-1900-am30051","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/amaruantiques.stg.uzero.cat\/en\/antique-furniture\/antique-japanese-tansu-with-drawers-and-iron-hardware-japan-circa-1900-am30051\/","title":{"rendered":"Antique Japanese tansu with drawers and iron hardware \u2013 Meiji Period, Japan, circa 1900"},"content":{"rendered":"

Antique Japanese tansu with drawers and iron hardware<\/strong>, of rectangular body and four wide stacked drawers<\/em> topped by two short keyplate drawers<\/em>, with side carrying handles. It originates from Japan, from the late Meiji period, when chests of drawers \u2014 domestic variants of the merchant chest \u2014 ordered clothing, textiles and family belongings in urban houses.<\/p>\n

The tansu is part of the core domestic furniture of Japan: a solid, portable case, designed to be dismantled or moved in case of fire or relocation. The wide drawers held folded kimonos; the two short drawers in the lower body, locked with key, protected documents, jewellery or coin. The lateral handles, in forged iron, allowed the piece to be lifted by two people.<\/p>\n

It is built in solid wood, nailed with perimeter reinforcement, with hand-forged iron hardware. The pulls are warabite hoops \u2014 fern-shoot silhouette \u2014 fixed to a square escutcheon at each end of the drawers; the two lower drawers retain their rectangular keyplates and small ring pulls. The finish is natural dark lacquer applied across the surface.<\/p>\n

The patina is dense and honest, with the lacquer softened at the edges and on the most handled fronts, stable rust on the hardware and small perimeter losses typical of a heavily used piece. Every mark preserves the material trace of its domestic function.<\/p>\n

It sits naturally in wabi-sabi, japandi or contemporary eclectic interiors. It works as a bedroom chest of drawers, as an auxiliary piece in a living room for tablecloths and textiles, or as a transition piece in a hallway, where the warabite hardware acts as the only graphic accent.<\/p>\n

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