Chinese Table with Stone Inset Top

A square table with a dark inset top and legs that finish in tidy little hooves.

This table with stone inset top is from Shanxi Province, China, and dates to the mid 19th century. It is elm wood & stone. Collectors generally weigh aesthetics, age, condition, design, origin and provenance when judging antique furniture, though the article argues that scarcity ends up with the greatest influence on value. Square frame with a slightly overhanging edge around a recessed panel of darker tone. Plain apron below, small curved brackets at each corner, and four straight legs ending in inward-turned feet. Surface is mottled, scorched brown with scuffs. It is 22 inches long, 22 deep and 20.5 high.

Plain manners, good posture, and a face full of stories.