Three Drawer Altar Coffer

The curved edges and carved apron of this low 19th-century coffer reveal its original use as an altar in a traditional Chinese home. Used during ancestor worship, a coffer such as this provided a surface to place incense burners, ritual offerings, and ancestral tablets. When not in use, these ritual accoutrements would have been stored in the coffer's three shallow drawers. Though many altars of this type were darkened with lacquer, this coffer is minimally decorated to preserve the natural beauty of northern elmwood (yumu).

Additional Dimensions:
Drawers: 8.5"W x 11.5"D x 3”H