Qing dynasty (1644 - 1912) China Provincial lattice-backed cabinet c. 1700s hardwood

This hardwood cabinet is an elegant yet functional piece of furniture with upper and lower display shelves, two drawers with metal drawer pulls and two removable decorative lattice panels. The lattice work is carved as individual pieces which fit together with keys, like a jigsaw puzzle. No glue is used in the construction of this complex design.

“Much of the furniture produced in China was also enhanced with metal mounts. Wardrobes, cabinets and chests of drawers were decorated with ornamental lock and handle plates, door and drawer pulls.

Very old metal fittings have been analysed as a copper-nickel alloy called pai-t’ung (paktong). Paktong was worked cold by Chinese craftsmen after having been cast in sheets. This was made possible by its superior malleability, and necessary due to its high melting point. Craftsmen hammered the metal to the desired shape. Over time paktong took on a softly tarnished appearance which enhanced the colours of the wood used.

Metal fittings were attached to the furniture using flattened wires of the same metal placed into small drilled holes. The wires also served as loops to attach pulls or handles. When attaching hinge plates the wires or cotter pins were either ground flat or had ornamental heads.”

- Wayne Ricketts

The repeated floral symbol at the join of each piece of lattice is a stylised representation of the four-petaled blossom of the Northern Chinese date tree. In Chinese, the word for ‘date’ is phonetically identical to ‘early’ or ‘soon’.