Chinese Telephone Stand with Side Cabinet

The telephone once got its own furniture. People sat down to talk.

This telephone stand with side cabinet comes from China and dates to the 20th century. It is rosewood, with a dark rosewood finish. Telephone seats were made for households of the landline years, when the phone lived in one fixed spot: you sat, talked, and kept the directory in the cabinet. A low seat sits beside a small cabinet with two doors above a drawer. Round, carved emblems mark the doors and the pierced back, and brass pulls add a small flash of color. A low side panel closes the far end. Forty inches long and 34 high.

Nobody will ask you to hold. Nothing here rings.