Low Antique Japanese Table in Wood, 1930

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This antique Japanese low table in solid wood carries two drawers at the front with hand-forged iron pulls and a … Read more This antique Japanese low table in solid wood carries two drawers at the front with hand-forged iron pulls and a slatted shelf below. Originates from Japan, from the early Showa period, where timber was joined with mortise-and-tenon work and through tenons.Low work tables were used seated on the floor, in shops, kitchens and domestic offices. The drawers held writing or trade implements, and the lower shelf carried whatever was in use. The top served directly as a working surface, with no protection.The structure is solid wood, with square-section legs and through tenons visible in the uprights. The drawers are of board construction, dovetailed, with a continuous bottom. The pulls are hand-forged iron, half-round in profile, with irregular forging.The top holds decades of incisions, fine cuts, ink marks and knocks that have darkened the wood unevenly. It is exactly the surface produced by continued use without a protective finish. The edges are rounded by handling.It works as a low centre table in a wabi-sabi or japandi living room, and equally as a tea table beside a low sofa. Its marked top asks for a restrained setting, with natural textiles and little visual competition. See less