A HUANGHUALI TIELIMU-INSET WAISTLESS FLUSH-CORNER-LEG SIDE TABLE WITH ‘GIANT’S ARM’ BRACES
A HUANGHUALI TIELIMU-INSET WAISTLESS FLUSH-CORNER-LEG SIDE TABLE WITH ‘GIANT’S ARM’ BRACES
A HUANGHUALI TIELIMU-INSET WAISTLESS FLUSH-CORNER-LEG SIDE TABLE WITH ‘GIANT’S ARM’ BRACES
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A HUANGHUALI TIELIMU-INSET WAISTLESS FLUSH-CORNER-LEG SIDE TABLE WITH ‘GIANT’S ARM’ BRACES
4 More
A HUANGHUALI TIELIMU-INSET WAISTLESS FLUSH-CORNER-LEG SIDE TABLE WITH ‘GIANT’S ARM’ BRACES

17TH CENTURY

Details
A HUANGHUALI TIELIMU-INSET WAISTLESS FLUSH-CORNER-LEG SIDE TABLE WITH ‘GIANT’S ARM’ BRACES
17TH CENTURY
32 1⁄2 in. (82.5 cm.) high, 57 1⁄4 in. (145.5 cm.) wide, 24 1⁄8 in. (61 cm.) deep
Provenance
Grace Wu Bruce, Hong Kong
Literature
Grace Wu, Ming Furniture Through My Eyes, 3rd ed., Beijing, 2019, p. 43
Grace Wu, Three Decades of Ming Furniture, Beijing, 2024, p. 47
Exhibited
National Museum of History, Splendor of Styles: Classical Furniture from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Taipei, 26 June- 5 September 1999, cat. p. 145

Brought to you by

Yunhan Sun (孫蘊涵)
Yunhan Sun (孫蘊涵) Junior Specialist

Lot Essay

The present table exemplifies the sophisticated design of Ming dynasty furniture, characterised by its simplicity, fluidity, and striking contrast between the angular lines and the elegantly curved ‘giant’s arm' braces.

The simianping construction, or 'four-corner's flush' form, is amongst the most attractive forms found in Chinese furniture construction. It relies on the simplicity of its lines and figure of the wood for its beauty. This design, which first emerged in the Song dynasty (960-1279). For an early version of a simianping lacquer table illustrated in a painting of the Song dynasty, see Special Exhibition of Furniture in Chinese Paintings, Taipei, 1996, pp.20-1, no. 6.

A qin table of very similar design, but with nanmu table top, is in the collection of Minneapolis Institute of Arts (fig.1), illustrated in Classical Chinese Furniture in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, 1999, pl.no. 32. Compare also a pair of huanghuali corner-leg tables, sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 9 October 2020, lot 47.

This item is made of a type of Dalbergia wood which is subject to CITES export/import restrictions since 2 January 2017. This item can only be shipped to addresses within Hong Kong or collected from our Hong Kong saleroom and office unless a CITES re-export permit is granted. Please contact the department for further information.

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