Recessed-leg Altar Table, 16th-18th century, Huang-hua-li hardwood, China, 16th-18th century, Throughout China, long side tables with everted ends were often placed against the back walls of reception halls and temples where they were used in a ceremonial context. These altar tables could be set with ancestral tablets, Buddhist or Taoist images, and a variety of ritual utensils including censers, candlesticks, flower vases, and offering plates. Sometimes called 'wall tables,' they could also serve a variety of secular functions throughout the household, including the display of precious objects.