Antique Chinese console altar table in solid elm wood, structure of monumental length, originally from Shanxi and dated toward 1890. A functional piece of absolute architectural presence, sitting between a monumental altar table and a console-gallery of display, representative of northern Chinese furniture of epic presence from the last third of the nineteenth century.
In principal rooms, veneration spaces and galleries of Shanxi homes in the last third of the nineteenth century, monumental console-altar tables served functions of maximum importance: they created display surfaces for the most prized collections, functioned as altars of architectural presence, provided absolute visual bases beneath lines of monumental mirrors or framed work galleries. The very proportioned height — 75 cm — allowed complete visual presence. The extraordinary width — 179 cm — created a noble monumental horizontal silhouette. The very compact depth — 38 cm — was ideal for galleries. Altar tables from Shanxi of this scale are absolutely extraordinarily rare.
It is constructed in solid local elm with a very generous top board. The sides maintain clear and perfectly proportioned lines. The legs, of very proportioned square section, are connected by discrete rails or boards. Carpentry employs traditional mortise-and-tenon joinery without nails. The construction is completely honest and the structure is visibly very solid.
The patina preserves the profound character of Shanxi elm: very uniform and warm settled tone, entirely legible grain showing characteristic northern China texture, soft matte sheen polished by decades of natural ageing. The top board shows very discrete natural marks of historical contact. The structure is absolutely solid. The horizontal proportions are its visual identity.
Through its monumental proportions and absolute architectural presence, it sits naturally in interiors celebrating epic scale — large galleries, palace rooms, expansive transitional spaces — where it functions as a monumental console-altar, display surface for prized collections, structural element that defines entire spaces, or piece that creates an architectural visual foundation. Its original architecture is its greatest value.
Details
- Dimensions: Length 179 cm – Width 38 cm – Height 75 cm
- Style: Chinese provincial furniture
- Materials and techniques: Solid elm; very generous top board; very proportioned square-section legs; traditional mortise-and-tenon joinery
- Place of origin: Shanxi, China
- Period: Last third of the nineteenth century
- Date of manufacture: Circa 1890
- Condition / Notes: Good. Original extraordinarily uniform very warm patina, completely solid structure, absolute architectural presence
This piece is part of the collection of Amaru Antiques, Barcelona.
ONE OF A KIND PIECE
