Pale Painted Sideboard From Shanxi – 19th Century

This exquisite 19th century sideboard is from the northern Shanxi province on the border of Mongolia. The cabinet shape is Mongolian in style, however the multi-panel painting on the doors is more Chinese, Shanxi style. The delicate hand painting features scholarly objects alongside floral arrangements.

These cabinets were used by nomadic people for storage of clothes and bedding as grain stores. They were also used as altar cabinets for family ancestor worship. The front doors have been modified from the original closed front to make it more functional. Instead, it would have originally opened from the top by a hatch.