Chinese Root Wood Table

Tall and twisting, this sculpture leans like a dancer caught mid-spin.

This root wood table is from Hebei Province, China, and dates to the early 20th century. It is zhu mu wood. Once China slowly opened to visiting diplomats and businessmen, a trickle of antique furniture leaving the country became a flood that lasted through the 1980s, the 1990s and into the early 2000s. Elongated natural form of twisting ribbons and knotty ridges, with open gaps cut through the middle. The surface is amber to deep brown with a satin sheen. A smaller lump forms a steady base beneath the lean. It is 33 inches long, 22 deep and 50 high.

Gravity lost the argument long ago.