I bought this cabinet from a shop called David Wainwright in Portobello Road, London, in 1997. It cost #1,300 pounds sterling at the time.

I have replicated the information I was given by the shop below. I cannot verify if it is true or not (I was obviously convinced at the time to pay such a large sum of money for it), but I have it hand-written from them and stamped/signed with details as follows:-

"This cabinet is around 150 years old made from cyprus with elm casing. It was one of a pair given to the bridge and groom as a present from their parents. ... Red lacquered cabinet with fine gold paintings of horses & warriors: this cabinet is unusual in several respects; it retains the original lacquer work which has of course been retouched over the years. It is made of Elm and is from Shanxi in Northern China. The painting tells the story of Chu Un Cheang, who was leader of the Shanxi about 400 years ago. Here we see him in battle against the Emperor of Song. Chu Un Cheang won the battle and became the founder of the Ming Dynasty. At the bottom of the cabinet in the carved wood there is a Buddah called Laja. These would be given as wedding presents - the colour of red symbolising happiness - and they would always be made as a pair. The skill of the painter would be measured in his ability to render the gilt paintings in an exact mirror image of the other half of the pair (of cabinets)". I will supply the limited paperwork, from which I obtained this information, to the winning bidder.

It's hard to put this item up for sale because I've had it for 11 years now, but needs must and we now no longer have room for it. And it probably needs much more care than we have been able to give it recently.

So ... condition? Overall very sturdy and hard wearing obviously. It looks very good but on close inspection it reveals the following:- a) unfortunately I had to have the back top two corner sections removed and put back on again when I moved properties and we couldn't fit it through various tight turnings. So this cut on both sides and replacing/making good is there and noticeable; b) there are some various marks, chips and scrapes on the paint in some cases revealing the wood underneath, c) there is a small square 1 inch hole in the back as well, which is as a result of one of the shelves being moved, as described below.

I used to use this cabinet as a wardrobe. I think it originally had two fixed shelves in it, one remains where it was originally fitted. The other was moved from mid-height and put up above the other shelf and where this work has been done is apparent on inspection, mainly to the space it was taken from, ie. there's a nail exposed and some of the wood is rough and exposed. Underneath the shelves is a wooden hanging rail that I had fitted. Then we used this as a cabinet in our kitchen for crockery, so there are now some hooks that have been fitted inside. And now, as you can see from the photos, it is being used to store games and children's toys. Probably all rather excruciating for an antique's-expert to be reading.

All measurements approximate:-

HEIGHT: 73 inches / 185.4 cm

WIDE: 41.5 inches / 105.4 cm

DEEP: 24.25 inches / 61.5 cm

Please don't hesitate to email me if you wish to discuss further or require any further information.

Thanks for looking. I do hope it goes to a good home.