The Embroideress

Check out the short article on the History of Chinese Cabinets at the Silk Road site. This is a commercial site but it has heaps of quirky and interesting bits and stuff.

Seems traditionally the lovely wooden kitchen cabinets had open work topside so vegetables and fruit could be stored there with plenty of circulating air to keep them fresh. The bottom of the tall cabinet had solid doors and live chickens were kept there until needed for the wok.

If you think about it it's much the same idea as the pie safe sitting in my dining area. It has pierced tin on the top to allow air to circulate around baked goods and closed storage on the bottom for staples. None of the women in my family have ever (at last report) stuffed chickens, live or otherwise, into this piece of furniture.

It is the humble, everyday things that fascinate me and it is amazing how cross-cultural they are, are they not. Any other similar examples seen in other cultures?

Labels: Chinese Cabinets, Decorative Arts, Woodworking