Chinese Wedding Sedan Chair with 2 Doors

Narrow tower in red with a pointed hat, a finial and a carved front door.

This wedding sedan chair with 2 doors is from Fujian Province, China, and dates to the mid 19th century. It is carved, lacquered & gilded fir wood. Once China slowly opened to visiting diplomats and businessmen, a trickle of antique furniture leaving the country became a flood that lasted through the 1980s, the 1990s and into the early 2000s. Tall slim body topped by a pyramid roof with upturned eaves and a pointed knob. Front panels are carved and gilded, with a pair of doors lower down decorated with painted plants. The base is a plain stepped plinth. It is 43 inches long, 40 deep and 84 high.

Part cupboard, part pavilion, fully committed to the role.