Antique Painted Sideboard in Pine Wood, China, 1930

This antique painted sideboard in pine wood features three doors with painted panels over a cream ground: peonies, a shan-shui landscape and a floral composition with peonies and foliage. It originates from northwestern China, from the late Qing dynasty, where pine was worked using traditional mortise-and-tenon joinery.

Painted furniture from the Hexi corridor is recognised by its light palette — cream grounds, off-whites or soft yellows — as opposed to the dark lacquer of northern China. This high-key tonality allowed for landscape compositions in fine inks and floral polychromy in pinks, greens and blues. Three-door sideboards stood in houses to keep household goods, textiles and tableware in order.

The body is built in solid pine. The top is a continuous board. The front is divided into three identical doors with a perimeter frame and a painted panel at the centre. The lower apron, also painted, carries a continuous decoration of light landscapes. The pulls are circular brass and the construction is traditional Chinese mortise-and-tenon, without metal fasteners.

The painted decoration covers the three front panels. The left door shows pink and turquoise-blue peonies (mudan 牡丹) on a white ground, a symbol of wealth and honour. The central door bears a shan-shui landscape in soft inks, with mountains, small trees and a wanderer: shan-shui painting was a practice of literati and a mental refuge. The right door returns to a peony composition over vegetation. The palette combines cream white, pink, turquoise green and black strokes.

The paintwork shows soft wear that lets the pine show through in the contact areas. The pigments have softened but the compositions remain legible. The patina of the apron displays the muted pastel tones characteristic of natural aging over soft wood. The whole has been kept in continuous use.

With a length of just over two metres and a contained height of 81 cm, this sideboard suits living rooms, dining rooms and large hallways. It works as a central decorative piece, as low storage, or as a low cabinet for television with the screen hung above. It fits wabi-sabi, japandi, contemporary rustic and Asian-inspired interiors.

Details

Dimensions: Length 208 cm – Width 48 cm – Height 81 cm
Style: Qing Dynasty
Materials and techniques: Solid pine; brass hardware; traditional Chinese mortise-and-tenon joinery; painting over cream ground with floral motifs and shan-shui landscape.
Place of origin: China
Period: Late Qing dynasty / Early Republic
Date of manufacture: Circa 1930
Condition: Good. Original paintwork and patina preserved, with soft wear consistent with age. Wear consistent with age and use.


ONE OF A KIND PIECE