Asianart.com | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries

I was given this beautiful tansu step cabinet, and am wondering if someone could plz help me with ALL the info... It is 3 seperate pieces, there are engraved marks on the bottom side of all pieces, almost all the panels are beveled along the inside edges, the wood has a sweet pleasant smell, and its among one of the largest sizes ive came across during my many hours of researching it. It stands about 67" total in height. I have MANY pics. Id also like to know what kind of wood its made of, and what the white substance is along the drawer joints if possible. Thank u!

Link :Shared link because i couldnt get my pics to attatch

Hi Christina
Your chest is a bit of a puzzle . It is too short to be an authentic kaidan dansu. It would need to be at least another 2 feet taller than it is. An old kaidan was actually used as a staircase...it therefore needs to be tall enought to reach the ceiling ( or maybe one step less than the ceiling).
Yours is probably some sort of reproduction. When they became trendy in the 80's many repros were made that were of proportions that were smaller, so that they more easily fit into western lounge rooms . Most of these repros came from Korea, but yours does not have the look of a "typical" Korean knock off.
The wood seems to be cryptomeria (sugi), but the joinery style of the drawers is not typical ofJapanese work. I have never seen an old chest painted black inside like yours. When this happens it seems like someone is hiding something.
The iron metal work looks new too.
The scored in writing is just numbers, either to help the owner or the carpenter assemble it.
My guess would be a repro made in Japan in the 80's for foreign customers.
Hope this helps
Regards Sue

Thank you so much! That makes sense and is very helpful!

Asianart.com | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries |