Chinese Table Altar with Cloud and Yin Yang Fish Motif

Two cloud scrolls spread like wings from a black throne.

Chinese cabinetmakers made this table altar in elm wood in the mid 19th century, finished in black. Table altars are commonly used to hold offerings, incense and ancestral tablets. The tall niche has a plain paneled back and a stepped top, with two large cloud-scroll forms swelling from the sides. The apron below is shaped between curved legs. The black finish is worn smooth, with a dry, deep luster.

About twenty-seven inches tall, twenty-five wide. Substantial, solemn, and visibly well made.