Elegant Bench

With its refined trim and open fretwork, this centuries-old, elegantly proportioned bench feels surprisingly contemporary. Made in China’s Shanxi province, it was originally used as a family altar. Buddha figures, candles and offerings such as fruit, would have been placed on it to please ancestral spirits.
Carved from a single piece of elm wood foraged from the forests of Northern China, the table has aged beautifully over time. Representing the most elegant Ming fashion, this piece has a pure and simple form created by master carpenters. Sensitive to the subtlest of details, the woodworkers encircled the outer edge of the table’s round legs with stretchers, giving the design a natural flow and referencing bamboo, a material thought to be humble and mimicked out of reverence for the elite's respect for humility.
Today, we envision its clean lines for bench-style dining, in an entryway or bedroom beneath a window, or even as a low media console.