Description
About
This unique early 19th-century Chinese wedding cabinet, crafted during the late Qing Dynasty, exemplifies traditional bridal dowry furniture from Shanxi province. Standing at a commanding yet elegant stature, the cabinet has undergone meticulous professional restoration to preserve its historical integrity while ensuring structural stability and aesthetic vitality for modern interiors.
The cabinet’s façade is decorated with eight gilt-outlined circular medallions (four per door), each enclosing a single auspicious plant or floral motif rendered in raised gold against the deep crimson lacquer. These are not random botanicals but a deliberate “Eight Treasures of Marital Felicity” (Ba Hua Rui) set—symbolic flora traditionally painted on dowry furniture to invoke blessings of harmony, fertility, prosperity, and longevity for the newlyweds.
Below is a clockwise reading of the eight medallions (starting top-left door, moving top-to-bottom, left-to-right), with plant identification and symbolic meaning:
Left Door (Top to Bottom)
- Peony (Mudan – 牡丹)
- Appearance: Full, layered bloom with dense petals radiating from a central bud.
- Meaning: “Flower of Riches and Honour” – wealth, feminine beauty, marital bliss, and high social status. The “king of flowers” in Chinese culture.
- Lotus (Lianhua – 蓮花)
- Appearance: Rounded petal cluster rising from a stylised pad with seed pods visible.
- Meaning: Purity, harmony, and fertility – the lotus rises clean from mud, symbolising a marriage that remains virtuous amid worldly trials. Also puns on lian = “continuous” (of offspring).
- Chrysanthemum (Ju – 菊花)
- Appearance: Radiating, spiky petals in a tight circular form.
- Meaning: Longevity and noble retirement – blooms late into autumn, promising a long, dignified life together. Also resilience and joy in later years.
- Prunus / Plum Blossom (Meihua – 梅花)
- Appearance: Five-petaled blossoms on bare, gnarled branches.
- Meaning: Perseverance and renewal – first to bloom in late winter, symbolising a marriage that overcomes hardship and heralds springtime prosperity.
Right Door (Top to Bottom)
- Orchid (Lanhua – 蘭花)
- Appearance: Delicate, arching stems with small, symmetrical blooms.
- Meaning: Refinement, humility, and ideal love – the “gentleman’s flower,” representing a cultured and harmonious union. Also fertility (seed pods).
- Bamboo (Zhu – 竹)
- Appearance: Segmented stalks with narrow, lance-shaped leaves.
- Meaning : Uprightness, resilience, and modesty – bends but never breaks in storms, symbolising a flexible yet enduring marriage. Puns on zhu = “to wish.”
- Lingzhi Fungus (Lingzhi – 靈芝)
- Appearance: Cloud-like, ruffled cap on a slender stem (often stylised as a reishi mushroom).
- Meaning: Immortality and spiritual potency – the “mushroom of immortality,” ensuring long life and divine protection over the couple.
- Pomegranate (Shiliu – 石榴)
- Appearance: Rounded fruit split open to reveal abundant seeds.
- Meaning: Fertility and numerous offspring – “a hundred seeds” = wish for many children, especially sons to continue the family line.
Symbolic Synthesis
Together, the Eight Plants form a complete marital benediction:
“May your union be wealthy and honorable (peony), pure and fertile (lotus), long-lived (chrysanthemum), resilient (plum), refined (orchid), upright (bamboo), divinely protected (lingzhi), and blessed with many children (pomegranate).”
The circular frames themselves evoke completeness and eternity—the unending cycle of marital harmony.
Country of Origin
c. Pre 1900, Shanxi Province, China
Dimensions
Width 121cm x Depth 56cm x Height 181cm
Materials
Solid wood
Care instructions
Clean with a soft cloth
Keep away from heat sources and direct sunlight
Delivery details
You are always welcome to come to pick the goods up at our store or our warehouse in Bristol, free of charge.
Goods will usually be dispatched within 5 working days after the payment has been received
Delivery Cost within mainland UK- £60.00
Due to the size and weight of this item, it is dispatched using our bespoke furniture courier service delivered on a mutually convenient day.
We deliver our goods internationally. Please email us at info@nookdeco.co.uk with your enquiries.
