Chinese Black Lacquer Elm Sideboard - 19thC Tansu India carved in the late

India carved in the late 19th century

with four solid shelves offering generous and practical storage

Traditionally used to store paan ingredients — a mixture of betel leaf

It has been salvaged from a building fallen into disrepair in the South Indian state of Andra Pradesh

From the side you can see the sweeping curve of the back

Chinese Black Lacquer Elm Sideboard - 19thC Tansu India carved in the lateThis beautiful traditional black lacquer Chinese sideboard is a classic example of black lacquering on sideboards made for city residents in Shanxi Province in North China. Beautifully painted with good luck and wise symbols to instill wisdom in the owner. Sideboards like this would have been used as altar cabinets, for burning incense on and making offerings to the ancestors. Over 150 years old and made in the first half of the 19th century, soft