From the Late Edo period, Circa.1850, this Japanese paulownia wood, (the wood has a wonderful fragrance!), merchant's locking chest or 'Choba-Dansu' has a pair of sliding doors above a combination of drawers, three secured by a locking bar. The single cupboard door encloses three drawers, one with what seems to have a rudimentary combination lock. The unit has multiple locks, (all working), and various metal fittings, complete with three keys.
Height 740mm.
Width 660 mm
Depth 340 mm
Tansu is the traditional mobile storage cabinety indigenous to Japan. Tansu was first recorded in them Genroku era of the Edo period (1688–1704). During the time period in which tansu gradually became a feature of Japanese culture and daily life, 1657–1923, both hard and softwoods were used by tansuyas (tansu craftsmen), often in practical combination for a single chest. Woods commonly used in tansu included elm, chestnut, pine, cedar, paulownia and cypress. Choba-dansu chests were used by merchants on the choba (raised platform area of a shop) to store daifukucho (account books) and related business materials.