Cabinet, Isho Dansu - Wood, Metal - Elegant fully restored and functional Japanese hinoki cabinet of drawers (ishô dansu) in 2 sections. - Japan - Meiji period (1868-1912)

Beautiful and completely restored wooden ishô dansu 衣装箪笥 (cabinet of drawers) in two sections. Fully restored, cleaned and waxed. It is made of Hinoki Cypress wood. The front is only slightly varnished, giving it a tad warmer colour than its original hue. The sides and the top are stained in a deeper red colour, which gives it a nice contrast to the front. The cabinet has large circular decorative lock plates decorated with a reparative design of tiny suns surrounded by a clear border. The lock plates all have knobs in the shape of kiku 菊 (chrysanthemums) . Next to the lock plates are solid tôshi-zagane handles. The upper part has two large drawers. The lower part has two medium-size drawers at the left and small drawer at the right. Above the small drawer there is a hinged door. Behind this door there are three small drawers. The drawers are very deep and have a lot of volume, for easy storage. They run very smoothly. The sides with eight grip handles (totte) in total, two on each side of the upper and lower part. The sides are also equipped with four pole-carrying handles in total, one on each side of the upper and lower part for easy transport and “locking” the upper section to the lower part (please see pictures) . When shipped we will add a certificate of authenticity. Height 93. 6 cm, Width 105. 7 cm, Depth 43. 1 cm. Tansu is the traditional mobile storage cabinetry indigenous to Japan. Tansu were rarely used as stationary furniture. Consistent with Japan's minimalist aesthetic, traditional homes appeared rather empty. Tansu were not visible in the home except at certain times for specific situations. They were kept in kura (storehouses) adjacent to homes or businesses, in nando (storage rooms) , in oshiire (house closet alcoves) , on choba (raised platform area of a shop) and on some sengokubune (coastal ships) . Mobility was obtained through the use of attached wheels, iron handles for carrying or protruding structural upper rails for lifting. (From Wikipedia)