Antique carved low cabinet with drawers in pine – Xinjiang, circa 1900

This antique low cabinet with drawers, carved from pine, is a Uyghur piece from Xinjiang featuring five drawers and polychrome sculpture. It originates from Xinjiang in north-west China, from the Qing dynasty, where pine carving was coloured with ground pigments. The traditional Uyghur home organises life around the supa, the low platform where meals are eaten and rest is taken. The furniture is adapted to this height: long, low pieces, accessible from the floor, designed to arrange the perimeter of the room. The case is made of solid pine, assembled with mortise and tenon joints. Five drawers align in a single facade beneath the bare top. The posts extend into bracket feet, and the back is closed with vertical boards. The sculpture covers the drawer fronts, frieze, and plinth. The drawers feature rosettes with interlaced circles and lanceolate petals; the high frieze has a lattice of flowering diamonds; the plinth has a continuous band of rosettes. The colour was applied with a brush tip onto the relief in pink, green, yellow, orange, and violet blue, with the wood remaining visible in the backgrounds. The polychromy has lost saturation and has turned pastel, closer to pale pink and ash green than the original tone. The top is bare, with knots and open grain. The contrast between the coloured facade and the clean wood constitutes the main reading of the piece. Details. Dimensions: Length 245 cm – Depth 43 cm – Height 54 cm. Style: Uyghur from Xinjiang. Materials and techniques: Pine wood; iron fittings; mortise and tenon assembly; bas-relief sculpture and polychromy with pigment. Place of origin: China, Xinjiang. Period: Qing dynasty. Date of manufacture: Circa 1900. Condition / Observations: Good. Original polychromy has faded to pastel tones, with visible wood in the backgrounds and on the top. Wear consistent with age and use.