Gifu chôba’dansu , merchant chest

Striking wooden Gifu chôba’dansu 帳場箪笥 (merchant’s document cabinet) in two section. Fully restored, cleaned and waxed.

The exterior is made of indigenous sugi (cedar) and hinoki (cypress) wood lacquered in a dark brown hue. The sides and sliding doors fitted with sturdy bars.

The upper part constructed with a pair of sliding doors with an iron sliding lock. Opening to an open storage space and a pair of small drawers.
The lower part with a pair of smaller sliding doors, six drawers of different size and a small hinged door heavily clad with hardware. Behind the hinged door two small drawers.
The drawers are equipped with circular iron lock plates with a raised wave design and chrysanthemum 菊 (kiku)-shaped knob, accompanied by sturdy ‘warabite’-shaped bail handles. The drawers and sliding doors run very smoothly. The cabinet is deep so there is a lot of volume for easy storage.

The lower part has, when the top part is taken off, two handles to make to carrying around easier, and lock the upper part into place.

This type of cabinet originates from the Gifu prefecture (central Honshu).

The chôba’dansu is in a very good restored condition. Please see the photos for a condition reference. No keys included

Dimensions:
Height 171.6 cm, Width 97.5 cm, Depth 43.8 cm.
Meiji period (1868-1912)
Chôba’dansu: These chests were used by chōnin (merchants) on the choba (raised platform area of a shop) to store daifukucho (account books) and related business materials. These chests come in many sizes but are usually of only one section with numerous compartments and a wide variety of interior configurations. If visible to the customer, the face wood and hardware could be of high quality to convey a favourable impression. (From Wikipedia)

When shipped we will add a certificate of authenticity.