Antique Zhejiang Kitchen Cabinet
$1,800.00
An antique kitchen cabinet from Zhejiang province, made of Elm and Pine, and the carved parts made of Camphor wood.
The carvings on this cabinet contain four floral patterns, starting with magnolia (玉兰花 yù lán huā) at the top, this is repeated across the top of the doors. The large openwork pattern just below represents the begonia flowers (海棠花 hǎi táng huā). The small carved panels across the middle are that of peony (牡丹 mǔdān) & osmanthus (桂花 guìhuā). Taking one character from each flower, the combination of these four flowers forms the words 玉堂富贵 (yù táng fù guì), which means affluence and abundance, and the household always have more than sufficient (food) every year.
The first two characters 玉堂 (yù táng) which means Jade Hall, is another name for the prestigious Hanlin Academy, and therefore also represents a wish for scholarly achievement; Hanlin Academy was an elite academic institution founded in the Tang dynasty. From then until the Qing dynasty, Hanlin scholars functioned as the emperor’s close advisers and confidential secretaries.
Dimensions: W116 x D48 x H183cm
Out of stock
