American, late 19th/early 20th century, by Charles J. Naylor, (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, working 1870-1913), canted golden polychromed wood cannon form legs leading up to an oxblood red plank top in oak with ribbed edge, pyramid stack of black painted "cannonballs" centered at lower shelf, shellacked surfaces, set on diminutive caster wheels, possibly original, 37-1/2 x 25 x 25 in.

Note: Retailed by Charles Naylor as an altar for use in Grand Army of the Republic ceremonies, these originally sold for a cost of $45. Naylor himself was a member of Post 160 in the G.A.R., having served with the Pennsylvania 68th Infantry in the Civil War.

It is anyone's guess how an altar made for formal use in post-War Union activities ended up reposing the past fifty years in a Western North Carolina hotel known as The Cedars.

Provenance: Cedars Hotel, Hendersonville, North Carolina

abrasions to surfaces consistent with age and usage, paint and finish largely intact with some wear at edges and areas of high contact, minor fissures to shellac at top surface