Chinese Compound Cabinet with 24 Drawers & 4 Doors

Wall of tiny drawers under latticed doors, a filing system with ambitions.

This compound cabinet with 24 drawers & 4 doors is from Jiangxi Province, China, and dates to the 19th century. It is elm wood. During the Cultural Revolution, from 1966 to 1976, a great deal of antique Chinese furniture was burned, confiscated or scattered, which the article says helped start the scarcity of such pieces. Four tall doors of vertical slats and small decorative bands rest above rows of small square drawers, each with a metal ring pull. Plain legs support the whole piece. The surface is warm reddish brown, cleanly kept. It is 49.5 inches long, 17.5 deep and 92 high.

A great many compartments, each one quietly judgmental.