Chinese Wood Rustic Bench

Pale plank bench that looks scrubbed daily and loved for it.

This rustic bench is from Shanxi Province, China, and dates to the mid 19th century. It is elm wood & walnut. 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. Light-toned bench with a thick, scuffed top overhanging a simple frame. Slender legs cross with short braces at each end, with small shaped brackets. The surface is dry and slightly rough. It is 51 inches long, 8 deep and 18.5 high.

Plain and pale, and entirely cheerful.