Chinese Wood Altar Table

Black console with bulging cabriole legs and tiny gold flourishes at the feet.

This altar table is from China, and dates to the 20th century. It is lacquered & painted 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. Evident is a low table with three drawers decorated with faded gilt fretwork. A wavy carved apron runs below, and the heavily curved legs end in small gilded caps. The surface is dark and worn. It is 58.5 inches long, 24.5 deep and 34.75 high.

Round-kneed, gilt-toed, and a bit dramatic.