This antique Chinese console in solid wood with dark lacquer, with two upper drawers and a long frieze drawer, is a low altar table from northern China around 1900.
Low altar consoles were common pieces in northern Chinese homes during the late Qing and early Republican periods. They served as a support in the main living room — where they held incense, offering bowls or ritual objects — and as a side cabinet for everyday small items.
The frame is built with blind mortise-and-tenon joinery. A dark red-black lacquer covers the front, today worn unevenly and revealing the warm wood at rub points. The two upper drawers keep their circular wrought-iron rings, and a single wide drawer closes the centre of the front below.
The patina offers a rich reading: dark lacquer covers most of the front with frank losses that bring back the warm tone of the wood beneath. The low perimeter stretchers have been softened by use. No invasive restoration: the piece carries its rural, honest character.
It works as a hallway console, a service table in a dining room or a support piece in a main living room. Its low silhouette and dark lacquer sit well in wabi-sabi, japandi or rustic-contemporary interiors, bringing a deep chromatic note without crowding.
Details
- Materials and techniques: Solid wood; original dark lacquer; mortise-and-tenon joinery; wrought-iron fittings
- Place of origin: China
- Period: Late Qing dynasty / Republican
- Date of manufacture: Circa 1900
- Dimensions: Length 100 cm – Depth 47 cm – Height 73 cm
- Condition: Good. Wear consistent with age and use. Contains scratches or other signs of period use.
This piece is part of the curated collection of Amaru Antiques, Barcelona.
ONE OF A KIND PIECE
