Rosewood Opium Stand

Designed to resemble a scroll-form altar table, this petite rosewood box has an elegant silhouette with waterfall sides and minimal ornamentation. Dated to the late 19th century, the box is crafted of fine huali rosewood and was once used to elevate an opium smoker's collection of pipe bowls, a removable element of the opium pipe often made of fine materials such as jade, yixing red clay, or agate. Pipe bowls would have been placed stem-down into each of three holes atop the stand and any falling debris or ash (dross) was collected in the shallow drawer below.