17TH CENTURY

At first glance, it is the impressive scale of the present table that strikes the viewer; however, upon closer examination, it is the delicate and intricately worked details that lend the table a refined grace and sophistication sometimes lacking in oversized furniture. Featuring a solid plank top measuring 6.3 cm. thick, the plank is attractively grained and subtly finished with a thick thumb-grooved molding on the lower edge. The top is set above bold, thickly beaded spandrels carved with an intricate scrollwork fitted into subtly molded, massive legs that terminate into flared feet. Openwork panels, finely carved with detailed pairs of chilong moving through dense floral scroll, join the legs completing this bold and sophisticated design.

This form is known as a qiaotou'an, or 'everted-end recessed-leg table,' although the late Ming style-maker Wen Zhenheng termed it bizhuo, or 'wall table,' as it was commonly used against a wall to display works of art or to hold offerings. Tables of the present type tend to feature long, single-plank tops and thick members. Such tables also feature aprons with integral spandrels which are joined by dovetail-housing to the trestle legs, providing added structural support.

A smaller huanghuali trestle-leg table with solid plank top and similar openwork panels, formerly in the Florence and Herbert Irving Collection, was sold at Christie’s New York, 25 September 2020, lot 1654. Another notable massive plank top huanghuali trestle-leg table carved with a rare taotie mask on the spandrels, formerly in the ShanRuoShui Xuan Collection, was sold at Christie’s New York, 19 September 2025, lot 801.