Chinese Wood Wedding Cabinet

Red for luck, and enough room for a dowry.

This Chinese wedding cabinet dates to the 19th century and is made of lacquered pine. Cabinets like it were among the furnishings a bride's family sent to her new home, filled with clothing and textiles, and red was the color of celebration. A pierced, carved gallery crowns the top. A great round metal plate with a fish-shaped lock spans both doors, and carved ornaments run down the panels on either side. It stands 76.75 inches high, nearly six and a half feet.

The marriage was expected to last. So was the cabinet.