A couple of weeks ago I was in a local antique store, probably engaging in the ongoing and fruitless search for an Eastlake or Aesthetic Movement hall tree/coat and hat rack type of thing that suits my needs, when I spotted this beautiful antique Chinese cabinet. I wasn’t sure that I could find a place for it in the house but was determined to try, as it conformed to my vision of an ideal cabinet for my Chinese teas.
Considering the fine workmanship, great condition and its vintage, which I estimate to be ’20s or ’30s, I was quite surprised to find that it was priced under $50.00. It’s fairly small: 14″ wide, 12″ deep and 20″ tall. All of the birds and flowers are hand painted. I don’t know what kind of wood it is, but it weighs very little.
It is missing one of the handles and the pin that should go through the rings above the handles, but that’s all fixable. After doing a minimal amount of searching I was able to find a seller on eBay, Classical Country Chinese Life Style Shop, offering a fabulous selection of affordable and classically styled Chinese hardware. The pieces of hardware they sell are not antiques, but they will work just fine. All I need is two of the hanging pulls and the pin. The rest of the hardware I will leave original.
I really love antique hinges like this one on the front of the cabinet. It has worn down quite a bit as brass is a very soft metal, but it still looks quite wonderful. The cabinet is really quite striking and I feel very fortunate to have been able to acquire it. The photographs do not do it justice, which is another way of saying that I didn’t photograph it terribly well. My Chinese oolongs, red teas and green teas now have a very attractive place to await their future steepings.
Maybe you’ll post a picture with the teas inside the cabinet. I’m sure it will look cosy
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Cinnabar Reply:
March 18th, 2009 at 10:49 am
Yes, I might post some pictures after it’s actually organized. It’s kind of a chaotic mess on the inside right now, I have to admit.
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Left by ionuca on March 18th, 2009
That’s a nice cabinet, I have something similar at home, but mine is not antique. I got it at Ross
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Cinnabar Reply:
March 18th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
Ross is not a place I would have guessed anyone could find anything at all interesting ever. That’s pretty awesome.
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Left by Chris Pugh on March 18th, 2009
AWESOME blog!!! Just found it through Facebook.
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Cinnabar Reply:
March 18th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
Thank you for reading!
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John Reply:
September 6th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Only one Wendy Bayliss I know uses the word Awesome!! In this context!!
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Left by Wendy Baylis on March 18th, 2009
Hi there,
http://www.gongfugirl.com to GoogleReader!
Have a nice day
Jinny
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Left by Jinny on March 20th, 2009
I keep my tea in Yixing pots, the Pu Erhs anyway, my Wu Yi Mountain teas I keep in airtight glass jars.
Some cha-beengs I keep in linen socks, made for cha-beengs….
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Cinnabar Reply:
March 26th, 2009 at 8:00 am
Where do you buy the socks for the pu’er? I don’t believe I have ever seen any for sale and I could use a few.
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Left by Pein on March 23rd, 2009
My teas are currently displayed on a wooden tray made by my husband as a child for his grandmother and she gifted the tray to me.
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Cinnabar Reply:
March 26th, 2009 at 8:01 am
That is a very special and wonderful way to keep them.
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Left by Georgia on March 25th, 2009
Such a usefule blog…wow !!!!
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Left by facebook proxy on July 25th, 2009