Pair of Painted Lotus Cabinets

This lacquered display cabinet from Shanxi province was crafted in the mid-19th century using traditional mortise-and-tenon joinery methods. The enclosed lower half was used for general storage and the open upper shelf was used to display precious objects such as vases, curios, or piles of books. The exterior is darkened by a black lacquer finish and hand-painted with charming decorative motifs, including bronze censers, flower vases, scrolls, and scholars' objects. Original brass hardware secures the doors, now richly aged with a smooth patina and subtle oxidation. Unusual for its smaller scale, we love this painted cabinet in a children's bedroom or playroom as an unexpected bookcase or toy chest...

Constructed with four doors, this spectacular Qing-dynasty cabinet from the mid-19th century is lavishly painted with scenes of courtly life in a grand palace garden. Seamlessly constructed and darkly lacquered, the tall cabinet provides the perfect blank canvas for an artist’s painted embellishments. The upper doors depict a gathering of scholar-officials and fine ladies in a traditional courtyard pavilion. The lower doors are painted with mythical wise men navigating the wilderness with their young attendants. Surrounding the lower doors are several boys leaping about and playing together, a version of the Hundred Boys...