Chinese Low Table with Shelf

A coffee table with a woven top and a shelf underneath for the things nobody dusts.

This low table with shelf is from Shanxi Province, China, and dates to the mid 19th century. It is lacquered elm wood & rattan. Tibetans were traditionally semi-nomadic and owned few personal furnishings, so most Tibetan furniture stood in monasteries, and some of it was carted over the Himalayas to India as monasteries were destroyed. Square low table whose top holds a finely textured, basket-like panel in grey-brown. A lower shelf sits recessed between short legs, with a squared apron all around. Edges show light wear and a mellow finish. It is 40.5 inches long, 40.5 deep and 17.75 high.

Quietly practical, with a texture worth running a hand over.