Geography
East Asian
A cabinet tradition older than the European one
East Asian cabinetmaking is not a variation on the European story — it is a separate one, with its own joinery, its own finishes and its own idea of what furniture is for. The forms are often older than anything in the periods beside it.
Read tansu and altar tables by their construction rather than their decoration: the joinery is the design.
What to look for
Construction before decoration: joinery, ironwork and lacquer that show how the piece was made rather than what was added to it.
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