Chinese Red Lacquer Wedding Cabinet - 19th Century Style - Meiping Vase paint loss and surface patination

paint loss and surface patination consistent with age and outdoor use

This mihrab mirror is made from an old teak panel dating from the 19th century from Rajasthan

Both decorative and functional

decorative arms

42 x 20 x 73 (wxdxh cms)

Chinese Red Lacquer Wedding Cabinet - 19th Century Style - Meiping Vase paint loss and surface patinationRed lacquer cabinets like these are nearly exclusively from Shanxi province in Northern China. They were made for scholars and wealthy homeowners. They would have stored bedding, clothes scholarly objects and valuables. The story is that these are called wedding cabinets as they were presented to a bride and groom at their wedding. This may be an apocryphal story. According to historic records, lacquer furniture was historically fifteen times more