It's all about the bricks. When the redevelopment of Suzhou got seriously underway in the early 2000's and they started digging up officals' courtyard homes and gardens we went there and bought as many golden bricks as we could find. Valued by literati, these hand produced bricks that each took up to a year to make through a complex process and fired in specially designed kilns, had been used as flooring, or as tea tables and painting tables to practice calligraphy for the Imperial Examinations. Originally designed for the palaces of Ming Emperors these bricks spread to the homes of wealthy officials as a sign of refinement and wealth, many being hacked at or destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. They each have chops along one edge telling us the reign year in which they were made, who supervised the making of the brick, where it was made and the approval of the Imperial inspector. How cool is that? We think their natural patina and ambient warmth make them ideal surfaces for contemporary tables. They are also beautiful.

If you'd like one or two for your space let us know. We can make them to whatever height you'd like and they come in either square or oblong.