Chinese Altar or Calligraphy Table

Nothing on top, nothing underneath, and just the ends turning up to break the line.

This altar or calligraphy table comes from Hebei Province, China, and is contemporary, in walnut. In China, long tables with upturned ends held offerings and ancestral tablets in homes and temples, and scholars used them for writing and display. The top is narrow and level, with flanges that curl up at each end. Cloud-shaped spandrels spring from the supports, and the panel ends below hold carved openwork, set on long runners. The walnut is deep brown, with a strong figure on the legs. Seventy-eight inches long, 26 deep and 32.5 high.

Ink is optional. Clutter would be a mistake.