Chinese Writing Table with Saddle Apron and Three Pencil Drawers

Black lacquer slab with upturned ends and legs braced by tidy angled rails.

This writing table with saddle apron and three pencil drawers is from China, and dates to the 20th century. As original period furniture became harder to find, restoration artists began salvaging fragments from incomplete pieces to make complete ones, and eventually full reproductions began to surface. Long, narrow table with a glossy black top whose ends flip up slightly. Round legs stand at the corners, each with a pair of slanted braces and small block brackets under the top. The finish is sleek and uniform. It is 77.5 inches long, 31.5 deep and 30 high.

Severe, shiny and quietly well proportioned.