A pair of identical twin tables placed side by side in an art gallery in Shanghai provides a surface for the visitor’s book, price list and other information on the exhibition. No way that they were made with the intention of being arranged this way but a number of nice features emerge from the partnership.
First, the overall proportion is improved as it impersonates a single piece of furniture, then we do a double take and notice that it has a certain symmetry, unusual for a console. The central leg is doubled and the lower shelf divided in two, while the front panelling is repeated twice.
Was it a chance arrangement of available material or a common device well known to the Chinese?
