Finished in our warm elm, cabinets in this style were used from early in Chinese history to hold incense and other offerings to ancestors.
The religious function is indicated by the raised, wing-like carvings at each end of the extended cabinet top. In most Chinese homes the altar to ancestors would double as a more general purpose storage cabinet and our version has two central doors as well as two smaller doors either side.
There is a removable shelf inside each section. The cabinet tapers...