Chinese Wood Altar Table

Almost six feet of table, barely ten inches deep. The point is not elbow room.

This altar table comes from Shanxi Province, China, and dates to the 19th century, made of elmwood. Long, shallow tables of this kind stood against a wall to display the objects that mattered most to a household, such as ancestor tablets, candlesticks and vases of flowers. Here a rich reddish brown finish runs along a flat top and a plain frame. Thin square legs descend to small hoof feet. Seams between boards show faintly on the top. At 69.5 inches long and 10.25 deep, it stands 30 high.

A table that knows exactly what it will not hold.