Xinjiang, circa 1920

This unusual low, long sideboard would be perfect as a TV stand for a large television with plenty of storage space inside, or used as a dining room sideboard. It was produced originally with much deeper proportions and with fixed panels at the front rather than doors, used as a daybed in the northwest Chinese province of Xinjiang. It has more recently been reduced in depth and doors and drawers added to convert it into this more practical cabinet.

The daybed would have been brightly painted over the geometric decorative carved patterns on the front. Traces of the old colour can still be seen in parts, but have largely been stripped away to reveal the natural colour of the pine wood underneath.

Xinjiang furniture takes influences from neighbouring central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan, with the distinctive patterns in carved relief being a common design.