Low Antique Sideboard in Red-Lacquered Elm, China, 1900

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This antique red-lacquered low cabinet in elm is a Chinese kang cabinet with three drawers, two side doors and a … Read more This antique red-lacquered low cabinet in elm is a Chinese kang cabinet with three drawers, two side doors and a shelved central recess. It originates from northern China, from the Qing dynasty, where elm was covered in red oil lacquer, the commonest finish in domestic furniture.The red was not an aesthetic choice but the norm. Oil lacquer tinted with vermilion protected the wood from damp and from the soot of the kang, and its colour, associated with fortune and celebration, made a utilitarian piece auspicious as well.The case is solid elm with mortise-and-tenon joinery and rounded upper corners. Three drawers occupy the centre, two panel doors close the side modules and the central recess retains its shelf. The pulls are iron rings on rosettes.Beneath the red, traces of a painted floral decoration show through: a small pink and green spray on the left-hand door, barely legible, and scattered blue and white marks. It was an earlier layer or an occasional addition, today almost absorbed by the lacquer.The vermilion survives remarkably well on drawers and doors, with the muted sheen proper to aged oil lacquer. The top, by contrast, has lost almost all its colour and shows the elm with dark marks. The contrast between the two planes is the principal reading.The red makes it an accent piece: one of these is enough to warm a room of neutral palette.DetailsRef.: AM34158Dimensions: Length 159 cm – Width 25 cm – Height 31 cmStyle: Chinese Qing dynastyMaterials and techniques: Elm wood; hand-forged iron hardware; mortise-and-tenon joinery; red oil lacquer and traces of painted decoration.Place of origin: ChinaPeriod: Qing dynastyDate of manufacture: Circa 1900Condition: Good. Original red lacquer well preserved on drawers and doors; top worn back to the wood. Wear consistent with age and use. See less