This antique low table in elm wood features a rectangular top supported by four straight legs reinforced with low horizontal stretchers. It originates from northern China, from the late Qing dynasty, where elm was worked using traditional mortise-and-tenon joinery.
Chinese low tables — variants of the table beside the heated kang — stood in traditional domestic rooms and served as a tea service support, a writing table for floor-seated use or an auxiliary side table for low living rooms. The minimal 29 cm height places them in the floor-seated furniture register, distinct from tall Chinese furniture.
The body is built in solid elm. The top is rectangular and rests on four straight legs continuing square to the floor. Two horizontal stretchers per side, at mid-height, stiffen the structure. The construction is open, without drawers or doors, all clean structural expression. The joinery is traditional Chinese mortise-and-tenon, without metal fasteners.
The top patina keeps a warm brown tone with the natural figure of elm visible. The top surface shows soft use marks and the knots of the wood. The legs and stretchers present a darker tone, characteristic of elm exposed to ambient humidity. The whole has been kept in continuous use.
With its reduced size and low 29 cm height, this table works as a very low coffee table, a tea service side table, a decorative support or a floor-seated piece in contemporary projects. It suits wabi-sabi, japandi, minimalist interiors with Asian presence and low living-room projects.
Details
- Dimensions: Length 60 cm – Width 39 cm – Height 29 cm
- Style: Qing Dynasty
- Materials and techniques: Solid elm; traditional Chinese mortise-and-tenon joinery; open structure with straight legs and low horizontal stretchers.
- Place of origin: China
- Period: Late Qing dynasty / Early Republic
- Date of manufacture: Circa 1930
- Condition: Good. Elm top with warm patina and natural use marks. Wear consistent with age and use.
This piece is part of the curated collection of Amaru Antiques, Barcelona.
ONE OF A KIND PIECE
