Chinese Corner Altar Table

Three legs, one drawer, and a corner finally put to work.

This corner altar table comes from Guangdong Province, China, is contemporary, and is lacquered elm wood. Altar tables are a fixture of Chinese homes, used to hold offerings, incense and family display, and corner forms let them fit where a rectangle cannot. The triangular top sits over a frieze with a central drawer carved in scrolling relief and fitted with a ring pull. Flanking panels are pierced in a lattice of interlocking hexagons, and openwork scroll brackets hang below. The dark lacquer glows softly on round legs. It is 33 inches long, 17.25 deep and 31 high.

Corners rarely get this much attention.