Merchant’s document cabinet

Fantastic wooden chôba’dansu 帳場箪笥 (merchant’s document cabinet), in a single section. Fully restored, cleaned and waxed.

The fronts and exterior are made of indigenous hinoki cypress wood. The entire outside is varnished in a sought after warm brown hue, a colour that we like to call ‘golden oak’.

Configured with fourteen drawers of different sizes. Equipped with sturdy iron ‘warabite’-shaped bail handles and some circular lock plates fitted with raised knobs shaped like chrysanthemum flowers (kiku).
The smooth running drawers are very spacious and ideal for easy storage. Some even have a divider in the middle, something we don’t see that often.

The sides fitted with a pair of iron en-suite totte (grip handles) and a retractable “pole carrying”-handles for easy transport.

It is in a very good restored condition. Please see the photos for a condition reference. No keys included.

Dimensions:
Height 93.1 cm, Width 91.4 cm, Depth 42.4 cm.
Period: Japan – 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.