17TH CENTURY

The present table ranks among the most extraordinary huanghuali plank-top pedestal tables ever recorded and to survive to the present day. Measuring 144 1⁄4 in. (366.4 cm.) in length and hewn from a single 3 1⁄4 in. (8.2 cm.) thick plank, the present table is one the largest huanghuali plank-top tables known. This massive size suggests that the table would have been immensely costly, even at the time of manufacture, and a highly prized possession of the wealthy scholar or official who owned it. This exceptional table would have likely held a place of great importance at the center of an altar, or against the wall of a grand hall.

Surviving examples of plank-top pedestal tables appear to be quite rare, and it is even rarer to find a table of this impressive size. The proportions of the present table and the generous use of such a massive single plank of huanghuali suggest an early date, as over time planks generally became shorter and thinner due to the shortage of huanghuali.

The largest plank-top huanghuali pedestal table sold at auction measured over 178 in. (452 cm) long, 22 in. (55.9 cm.) deep, and 3 in. (7.6 cm.) thick, formerly in the collection of Jonathan and Jessika Auerbach and sold at Christie’s New York, 22 March 2013, lot 1323 for a then world record-breaking $9,083,750. Another impressive huanghuali plank-top pedestal table, with slightly shorter plank (120 ½ in., 306 cm.), formerly in the collection of Mimi Wong, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 2 May 2025, lot 959.