Chinese Display Case with "Bronze Star" Motif

One star, center front, and nothing to explain it.

Contemporary work from China, this display case with "Bronze Star" motif pairs elm wood with glass. A case like this lets a collector or shopkeeper lay out coins, jewelry or other small objects under glass, and elm is an open-grained wood long used by Chinese furniture makers. The grain shows clearly on the dark X-shaped legs and along the front rail, where the star is set. A wide pane of glass fills the lid, framed in a warmer brown. Three hinges line the back edge. Twenty-six inches deep and thirty-eight and a half high.

Think carefully about what earns the star.