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Lot Essay
The form of the present table, with its simple, elegant lines, is one of the most successful, and popular, forms found in Chinese furniture construction, from the Ming dynasty throughout the Qing. A slightly smaller (125 cm.) huanghuali table of this form, although lacking a waist, is in the Qing Court collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (I), Hong Kong, 2002, p. 107, no. 90, where it is dated to the Ming dynasty. Another table of this form, dated to the 16th century, is illustrated by R.H. Ellsworth, Chinese Furniture, New York, 1971, pl. 66.
See, also, the closely related, though slightly larger (158.3 cm.) huanghuali corner-leg table of the same form, sold at Christie's New York, 19 March 2008, lot 378, where it was dated to the 17th century; and another similar, but slightly shorter (139.3 cm. long) huanghuali corner-leg table sold at Christie's New York, 16 September 2011, lot 1321.
The examples cited above all have plain aprons and undecorated frame members, but what makes the present table a particularly unusual and elegant variation on the standard form are the restrained subtle flourishes of beaded scrollwork on the apron flanking the legs and on the corners of the feet.
See, also, the closely related, though slightly larger (158.3 cm.) huanghuali corner-leg table of the same form, sold at Christie's New York, 19 March 2008, lot 378, where it was dated to the 17th century; and another similar, but slightly shorter (139.3 cm. long) huanghuali corner-leg table sold at Christie's New York, 16 September 2011, lot 1321.
The examples cited above all have plain aprons and undecorated frame members, but what makes the present table a particularly unusual and elegant variation on the standard form are the restrained subtle flourishes of beaded scrollwork on the apron flanking the legs and on the corners of the feet.