Low kang table with two drawers in elm wood and polychrome decoration, originating from Shanxi province in northern China and dating to circa 1930. A piece of strong decorative presence, bridging the coffee table and the painted side cabinet, representative of folk furniture from northern China.
The tradition of painting domestic furniture with floral and geometric motifs flourished in northern China between the late 19th and the early 20th centuries. Low kang tables, placed at the centre of the home, often received this ornamental treatment as an expression of family prosperity and as a gesture of hospitality toward visitors.
It is built in elm, with a wide top of quiet presence, two front drawers fitted with hand-forged iron ring pulls and side aprons cut with carved spandrels. The painted decoration — red, ochre and green pigments on a light ground, arranged in stylised floral motifs — is concentrated on the drawer fronts and the lower apron, leaving the top in bare wood. The structure is assembled with mortise and tenon.
The patina is exceptionally expressive: the original paint, partly worn by use and time, lets the wood show through layers of eroded pigment. This controlled loss — which the wabi-sabi reading celebrates as a sign of authenticity — is the piece’s most singular trait and sets it apart from any contemporary reproduction.
Given its visual weight and its low scale, this table works as a central piece in wabi-sabi, eclectic or Asian-inspired interiors, where it dialogues with clean-lined furniture and neutral materials. As a sitting-room coffee table, a tea table or an end piece at the foot of the bed, it brings history and colour without excess.
Details
- Dimensions: Width: 74 cm Depth: 48 cm Height: 35 cm
- Style: Chinese folk furniture, polychrome Shanxi style
- Materials and techniques: Elm wood; distemper pigments on wood; traditional mortise-and-tenon joinery; hand-forged iron ring pulls
- Place of origin: Shanxi, China
- Period: Late Qing dynasty – Republic of China period
- Date of manufacture: Circa 1930
- Condition: Good. Retains its original patina and paintwork, naturally worn by time and without invasive restorations
This piece is part of the curated collection of Amaru Antiques, Barcelona.
ONE OF A KIND PIECE
