(明式櫸木帶福字清代上海紅櫥) This is an excellent extra tall Ming style antique tapered Ju wood cabinet well designed and solidly constructed, coated with the original red lacquer made of ground organic mineral such as Zhu-Sha ( 朱砂). It is unusual partially because it has an old character of Fu ( 福, Blessing) written at the back of the cabinet to bless the user.

Chinese lacquered cabinets were not generally made with good wood as the wood would have been covered with thick lacquer without being seen. This one is an exception. It uses generous cuts of Ju wood, the finer southern Chinese elm, besides it is thickly covered with lavish organic red color pigment that was very costly and only lucrative families could have afforded. This cabinet is very well and stately built with a good taste in design. It shows the mannerism in which good material, good craftsmanship, and design often go hand-in-hand.

This cabinet originally came from near Shanghai area where more old Ju wood furniture pieces could be found. Though not an unusual style, this taller cabinet is built with a much better proportion than some other similar ones that are generally much smaller in size and with less superior construction, made of pine, fir, and other more common and cheaper wood, that came from other neighboring areas.

Unlike the doors made with several wood panels within each door frame, doors on this cabinet were built with single-board panel (獨板) inserted in the “Floating-Paneled” frame on each door. Doors made with this special feature will not easily develop cracks or widening gaps when in different weather condition. This cabinet was made as a wedding gift for a bride.

Dimensions: 45"w x 24"d x 88"h

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