17TH CENTURY

Details

A RARE HUANGHUALI ROCK TABLE
17TH CENTURY
The single, floating-panel-top is set in a rectangular frame with molded edges above a tall waist and plain, beaded apron. The whole is supported by 'giant arm's' braces and raised on beaded legs of square section terminating in finely carved hoof feet.
33 in. (83.8 cm.) high, 43 1/8 in. (109.5 cm.) wide, 21 1/8 in. (53.6 cm.) deep

Special notice

Lots made of or including (regardless of the percentage) endangered and other protected species of wildlife are marked with the symbol ~ in the catalogue. This material includes, among other things, ivory, tortoiseshell, crocodile skin, rhinoceros horn, whalebone certain species of coral, and Brazilian rosewood. You should check the relevant customs laws and regulations before bidding on any lot containing wildlife material if you plan to import the lot into another country. Several countries refuse to allow you to import property containing these materials, and some other countries require a licence from the relevant regulatory agencies in the countries of exportation as well as importation. In some cases, the lot can only be shipped with an independent scientific confirmation of species and/or age, and you will need to obtain these at your own cost.

Lot Essay

Of elegant proportions and form, the present table would most likely have been used to support an object of great weight. The block joint at the corner, which secures the waist to the leg, is an extension of the leg. Further, the use of curved ‘giant’s arm’s’ braces indicate that the table was used for displaying a scholar’s rock, large archaic bronze vessel, or a censer. Wang Shixiang illustrates a line drawing of this joint in Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture: Ming and Early Qing Dynasties, vol. I, Hong Kong, 1990, p. 121. no 3.32a. The strength of this joint allows for the table to be supported without stretchers, thereby creating a lighter and more rarefied form. A larger huanghuali burl-inset table with similar joint and 'giant's arm's' braces is illustrated in Grace Wu Bruce, The Best of the MQJ Collection of Ming Furniture, vol. 1, Beijing, 2018, pp. 112-15. A smaller huanghuali table with similar joint, but constructed without ‘giant arm’s’ braces was sold at Christie’s New York, 22 March 2019, lot 1669.

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