Antique buffet painted in pine wood – Xinjiang, circa 1930

Antique buffet made of pine wood, traditional Uyghur furniture with polychrome interlacing originating from Xinjiang, dated around 1930. It comes from Xinjiang, in the far northwest of China, from the early 20th century, where pine was worked using mortise and tenon joints without nails and decorated with polychrome geometric interlacing in the Islamic tradition of Central Asia. In traditional Xinjiang homes in the early 20th century, long low buffets were central pieces of the domestic furnishings of Uyghur families. They served both for storing utensils, textiles, and crockery, and as a bench around which daily life unfolded, a role similar to that of the Chinese kang and the Central Asian takht. Their typology belongs to the Silk Road tradition, where Uyghur furniture interacts with the decorative repertoire of Central Asia, Persia, and Anatolia. Constructed from solid pine according to traditional carpentry without nails. The front is organised into five carved drawers with wooden handles, on a low body decorated across its entire surface with polychrome interlacing. Thick block feet anchor the length of the body. The carpentry follows the tradition of Uyghur furniture from Central Asia. Details. Dimensions: Length 251 cm – Depth 44 cm – Height 65 cm. Style: Traditional Uyghur furniture, Central Asian tradition. Materials and techniques: Solid pine, pastel polychrome paint, carved wooden handles; mortise and tenon joints without nails, five front drawers, integral geometric decoration. Place of origin: Xinjiang, China. Period: Late Qing dynasty / early Republic of China (circa 1930) Date of manufacture: Circa 1930. Condition / Observations: Structure intact. Original patina and paint. Wear consistent with age and use.