Are altar tables always Chinese?

No, but the Chinese reading dominates. The word "chinese" appears in 67 of 95 titles on Sellingantiques, which makes the English church altar table the minority use of the name. That English strand is oak and pitch-pine tables from churches and chapels, several of them Gothic Revival.

What wood are they usually made from?

Elm is the leading named wood at 23 titles, and Chinese elm on its own accounts for 15 of those. Hardwood, used where the species isn't stated, comes next at 15. After that the timbers thin out fast. Hongmu appears in three titles, with amboyna, rosewood, fruitwood and cherrywood in one each.

Can an altar table be used as a hall table?

That's how many are sold. Console appears in 17 titles and side table in 15, frequently describing the same object as the altar-table name. Both the Chinese and the church forms were adopted into European interiors from the 19th century onward as hall and console tables.

How reliable is the dating on these?

Much of it is a century rather than a date. The commonest entry in the dated field is the bare label "19th Century", used 38 times, and only 44 of 95 listings carry a clean year. Titles hedge openly across the divide: "Late C19th/ early C20th", "Circa 1900-1920", "c1890-1910". Single years read as approximations unless the dealer says otherwise. The dated years run 1850 to 1930, with the 1900s the fullest decade.

Do pairs of altar tables come up?

Rarely. Four pairs appear in the sample, among them a pair of Chinese elm side tables and a pair of demi-lune console tables. Every one sits well above the middle of the range, and a pair of hongmu tables holds the top.

How often do altar tables come to market?

Around eleven a year on Sellingantiques, and 56 different dealers have listed one. That spread means most dealers who handle them do so once rather than keeping them as a line of stock.