Low Antique Polychrome Carved Pine Sideboard, Xinjiang, China, 1900

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This antique carved polychrome low cabinet in pine is a Uyghur cabinet from Xinjiang with seven carved doors and pierced … Read more This antique carved polychrome low cabinet in pine is a Uyghur cabinet from Xinjiang with seven carved doors and pierced friezes. It originates from Xinjiang, in north-western China, from the Qing dynasty, where carving in pine was coloured with the brush in ground pigment.At 255 cm across the front, this piece closed an entire wall of the Uyghur receiving room. The house was organised around the supa, the low platform where people ate and slept, and the furniture matched that height: long, low and reachable from floor level.The case is solid pine with mortise-and-tenon joinery. Seven panel doors open onto separate compartments, with hand-forged iron rings as pulls. The stiles continue into stirrup feet and the edge of the top carries a carved chevron moulding.The carving covers doors, stiles, friezes and plinth. The repertoire combines lattices of lanceolate petals set in saltire, sprays of pointed leaves and pierced friezes of small arches. Colour was applied in pink, emerald green, yellow, orange and violet blue, the last reserved for the mouldings; the plinth carries a band of red and yellow leaves on a pale ground.The pigment has lost body and in places only its trace remains in the ground of the relief. The bare top shows open joints and marks of use. The surface reads authentic, with no repaint recomposing the colour.Its length calls for a wide living room or a gallery. It works as a continuous low cabinet, a large dining-room sideboard or a storage bench beneath a run of windows.

Dimensions: Length 255 cm – Width 44 cm – Height 67 cm. Style: Uyghur of XinjiangMaterials and techniques: Pine wood; hand-forged iron hardware; mortise-and-tenon joinery; relief carving and pigment polychromy. Place of origin: China, Xinjiang. Period: Qing dynasty. Date of manufacture: Circa 1900. Condition: Good. Original carving and polychromy much faded, with open joints on the top. Wear consistent with age and use. See less