Code: 11675
Dimensions:
An Antique Chinese, Qing Dynasty, Lacquered Wedding Cabinet, late 19th century, fitted with an upper shallow cupboard with a pair of pierced doors carved with rats amidst fruiting vines, laid over background panels painted with peaches, the main cupboard doors painted with scenes of figures on balconies of a terraced building with a crowd of figures in the foreground, with large engraved brass central lock-plate and within a border of fruiting branches and birds, the upper section with a pair of carved panels depicting a procession of figures over a textured 'mica' background, the interior with a central pair of drawers, the base fitted with an arrangement of five drawers and raised on square section feet.
Chinese wedding cabinets were traditionally given as a gift on the occasion of a wedding by the family of the bride to the groom with the intention of blessing them with happiness and good fortune. The decoration on the cabinets would be symbolic of the life hoped for the couple, such as rats, symbolising fertility and wealth, and peaches a long and healthy life.
