Chinese Winged Altar Table

Honey-brown table with curled ends, glowing as if it had just come in from the sun.

This winged altar table is from Shanxi Province, China, and dates to the 19th century. Once China slowly opened to visiting diplomats and businessmen, a trickle of antique furniture leaving the country became a flood that lasted through the 1980s, the 1990s and into the early 2000s. Long slender table in warm reddish brown wood, its flat top ending in upturned flanges. Broad slab legs at either end are plain and slightly splayed. The surface shows a soft, even sheen and fine grain. It is 124 inches long, 19.5 deep and 34.5 high.

Warm color, spare lines, no fuss whatsoever.