Chinese Altar Table

One drawer, two stretchers, and no visible interest in being noticed.

This altar table comes from Shanxi Province, China, and dates to the 19th century. It is elmwood. Tables like this stood against the wall of a Chinese home or hall, holding incense, offerings and ancestral tablets, which is why so many are tall and narrow. The dark, glossy top overhangs a single drawer with a metal ring pull. Waisted stretchers connect the splayed legs on each side, ending in small hoof-like feet. Thirty-three inches high and 23.5 long.

The drawer keeps its own counsel.