Chinese Low Elm Coffee Table

Details

Description

Low kang table with a single drawer in elm wood, originating from shanxi province in northern china and dating to … Read more Low kang table with a single drawer in elm wood, originating from shanxi province in northern china and dating to circa 1930. A piece of low proportions and careful craft, bridging the coffee table and the tatami side table, representative of rustic northern chinese country furniture.

the kang — an elevated, heated platform that served both as a bed and as seating — was the centre of domestic life in northern china for centuries. Low tables such as this one were placed on it to eat, write, drink tea or play. Their reduced scale is not an aesthetic whim but the response to a very specific daily use.

it is built in elm (yumu), with a moulded top and a front drawer fitted with a hand-forged iron ring pull. The side aprons and the lower apron are finished with carved spandrels in a fishtail silhouette, the only ornamental gesture of the piece. The whole structure is assembled by traditional mortise and tenon, without nails or modern adhesives.

the patina is warm and deep, with marks of use visible on the top and aprons. Small wear along the edges, dark knots and faint age cracks bear witness to an authentic piece, which accompanied generations of domestic life before reaching the gallery.

given its low scale and measured character, it settles naturally into wabi-sabi, japandi or minimalist interiors, where it works as a sitting-room coffee table with floor seating, a tea table beside a futon or a support piece in front of a low bench. Its warm tones and carved silhouette introduce character without saturating the space.

details

dimensions: width: 54 cm depth: 39 cm height: 27 cm
style: chinese provincial furniture, rustic shanxi style
materials and techniques: elm wood (yumu); traditional mortise-and-tenon joinery; carved aprons; hand-forged iron ring pull
place of origin: shanxi, china
period: late qing dynasty – republic of china period
date of manufacture: circa 1930
condition: good. Retains its original patina with wear consistent with age and use, without invasive restorations


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