Pair of Daqi Lacquered Courtyard Doors

The finish on this pair of impressive early 18th-century doors truly embodies daqi, meaning "big lacquer" in Mandarin. The countless coats of hand-applied black lacquer have aged with an inimitable crackle. The red mark is residual painted graffiti remaining from the Cultural Revolution. These doors would have originally been the outermost entrance to a traditional courtyard home in Northern China. The original pulls are bronze-pierced with abstract and auspicious ruyi symbols.

Dimensions listed describe the doors as a pair.