A cabinet is a piece of furniture resembling a cupboard, with doors, shelves and drawers used for storing clothes and other miscellaneous objects. Cabinets are also used in study to store books and writing implements, in kitchen to store food and other cooking utensils. Chinese cabinets came into existence during the 13th century (late Ming period), when china had become prosperous for luxurious items including fined furniture. Furniture’s made during this time were usually made from timber of indigenous trees like pine, elm, and zelvoka (southern elm).They were usually lacquered red or black and them painted, carved and sometimes inlaid with precious stones. Main emphasis was usually placed on the application of the natural beauty of wood texture and adopting latticework carving.
Chinese cabinets from Ming period are usually referred to as antique Chinese cabinets because of their simple structures, unique shapes and minimal decorations which would reserve the natural beauty of the wood. Today these are classified into two shapes “ round cornered” cabinets with slightly sloping sides with removable doors and wooden pivots at each end, wherein the doors can easily be slotted directly into the frame of the cabinet, resulting in the design with clear lines and “square cornered” having vertical sides with doors mounted on metal hinges. Both of these were made in matching pair, placed side-by side or symmetrically to suit the interior of the room.
The themes that were used while designing those commonly included landscapes and garden scenes, however there are decorative designs which are region specific e.g. furniture’s from Shanxi region of china had more of ornate and florid designs. |
