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I just bought this small curio cabinet. Would this be Chinese or Japanese? It measures 25" X 19" X 8", also any idea of the type of wood by looking at these pictures?
Thank You

Your cabinet has a sort of generic Chinese look about it but might also have been made in Vietnam or almost anywhere else in Southeast Asia. Chinese traditionally have preferred wooden furniture made with an oiled, hand-rubbed finish, whereas this cabinet looks like it was lacquered or varnished. I've seen similar coatings on furniture made in Bangkok, In fact, those decorative flourishes jutting off the bottom of the main compartment seem to bear a resemblance to barge-board finials found on Thai, Lao and other traditional buildings around that region of Southeast Asia. As such, China, Japan or even Korea would be low on my list of the usual furniture-making suspects for this item.

Best regards,

Bill H.

Hello Kurt,

Your "cabinet" is Japanese. You actually show it upside down in your pictures. The bottom is supposed to totally be in contact with the floor and the parts you were expecting as feet are indeed decorative aspects.

The bat depicted in each upper part should watch down to the main shou caracter, bringing you luck. The sliding doors are typically Japanese as many other details and the overall design. The wood would be considered "karaki" (Chinese wood) by the Japanese and is rosewood.

A quite nice piece.

Enjoy it!

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