This unusual red Chinese wedding cabinet come with a twist – the erotic scenes hand painted in gold are both beautiful and unexpected. Chinese erotica paintings are rarely found on furniture.
I came across this in 2005 and have not seen anything like it again ever since. At best, the painting has been retouched and at worst, the finish was completely new. The cabinet itself looks old though. Regardless, it would have made a great conversation piece in my living room….
While everyone knows India has had the “Kama Sutra,” did you know China has had erotic art and literature for quite some time now and famous Chinese erotic classics include The Carnal Prayer Mat and The Golden Lotus. If you have an interest in Chinese entotica paintings then these are the books for you!
Books about Chinese erotica paintings
JOU PU TUAN (The Prayer Mat of Flesh)
According to the best information, "Jou Pu Tuan" is a novel of the Ming Period, first published in 1634 and written by Li Yu, the famous dramatist, novelist, and essayist. The novel mixes the erotic and the moral in a tale designed to amuse the reader as well as reform him. Translated by Richard Martin from the German version. 60 b&w illustrations.
Golden Lotus Volume 1: Jin Ping Mei
A saga of ruthless ambition, murder, and, famously, Chinese erotica, The Golden Lotus (also known as The Plum in the Golden Vase) has been called the fifth Great Classical Novel in Chinese Literature and one of the Four Masterworks of the Ming Novel. Admired in its own time for its literary qualities and biting indictment of the immorality and cruelty of its age, this Chinese classic has also been denigrated for its sexual frankness.
The Fountainhead of Chinese Erotica: The Lord of Perfect Satisfaction
The Lord of Perfect Satisfaction (Ruyijun zhuan), a short work of fiction from the early sixteenth century, tells the story of the Tang Dynasty's notorious Wu Zetian, the only woman to rule as emperor of China. It is famous not for the history it relates, but for its graphic sexual descriptions--the first ever in a Chinese novel--purportedly given from a woman's point of view. For the next century, most works that include explicit sexual descriptions refer to the Ruyijun zhuan or employ some of its vocabulary.
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We recently sold a pair of mid 18th century Chinese Cabinets on Stand with erotic panels. Two more from the same workshop exist at the Chateau de Beloeil in Belgium; they are believed to have been made for Marie Antionette.