Large Antique Chinese Qing Carved Red Lacquer Wedding / Temple Cabinet, Unusually Shaped

Chinese Red-Lacquer Carved Wedding / Temple Cabinet, Qing Dynasty to Republic Period, late 19th-early 20th century.

A monumental and richly carved hardwood cabinet, its surfaces decorated with deep multi-figure relief panels depicting imperial court scenes, scholars, attendants, and dramatic battle tableaux reminiscent of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The cabinet retains its original red lacquer with gilt highlights and features complex sculptural panels characteristic of high-quality Canton and Fujian workshop production of the period.

The reverse bears a highly unusual and historically important wartime protective label, handwritten in traditional Chinese characters, reading:

“This item belongs to an American woman named Renoir / Renold / Reynold, who assisted China in the struggle against Japan, and is a good friend of China.”

Such labels were affixed to foreign-owned property in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) to prevent confiscation, seizure, or interference by occupying or local military forces. The designation “friend of China” indicates the owner was recognized as an Allied civilian, missionary, relief worker, or diplomatic supporter of China during wartime. Very few examples of Chinese furniture survive with intact protective labels of this nature.

This cabinet, therefore, is not only a handsome late-Qing/Republic devotional and domestic furnishing, but also a documented survivor of wartime China, retaining a rare and evocative piece of its original history.

Dimensions: Measuring 59 inches W x 57 H x 21.5 deep. 

Condition: Wear, age cracks, and losses to lacquer commensurate with age; overall structurally sound; wartime label preserved on the reverse.

Provenance:

Owned in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War by an American woman identified on an affixed protective label. Such labels were issued to Allied civilians, missionaries, and relief workers to safeguard their belongings during the conflict.

Thence exported postwar; private collection, Montreal.