This antique painted low table in elm wood is a Chinese table with a drawer, a polychrome front and an iron ring pull, with a compact body and a solid top. It originates from China, from the late Qing dynasty, where elm was worked with mortise-and-tenon joints and decorated with paint over a coloured ground.
Low tables with a drawer served beside the kang as keepers of small belongings and as a surface to set things down. The painted face also placed them as pieces of prestige within the home.
The body is solid elm, with a front drawer fitted with an iron ring pull and plain side panels. The joints are mortise-and-tenon, and the structure keeps its solidity.
The drawer front is painted over a red ground with a floral peony motif in white and pink tones. The peony (mudan 牡丹), the “queen of flowers”, symbolises wealth and honour in the Chinese tradition. The composition frames the flowers in a panel of vivid colour that contrasts with the bare wood of the body.
The patina pairs the warm wear of the elm with the crackled paint of the front, where the red and whites have naturally lost their sheen. For its low scale and decorated face, it serves as a side table, a bedside table or an accent piece; it fits wabi-sabi, eclectic and Asian-feeling interiors.
Details
- Dimensions: Length 74 cm – Width 48 cm – Height 35 cm
- Style: Qing dynasty
- Materials and techniques: Solid elm; iron hardware; mortise-and-tenon joinery; painted decoration over a red ground.
- Place of origin: China
- Period: Late Qing dynasty
- Date of manufacture: Circa 1900
- Condition: Good. Retains original patina and paintwork, with crackling and wear consistent with age. Wear consistent with age and use.
This piece is part of the curated collection of Amaru Antiques, Barcelona.
ONE OF A KIND PIECE
