Lot 1014
1014
AN UNUSUAL HUANGHUALI ROUND LOW TABLE
AN UNUSUAL HUANGHUALI ROUND LOW TABLE
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Prospective purchasers are advised that several co… Read more PROPERTY FROM THE WHITACRE FAMILY COLLECTIONIn 1938, Dr. Frank E. Whitacre (1897-1971) and his family arrived in Beijing, where he assumed the role of Head of the Obstetrics and Gynecology department at Peking Union Medical College, a post sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation. His wife Lillian (1907-1986), a graduate of Oberlin College and the University of Pittsburgh, developed an interest in Chinese furniture and works of art, and began studying and collecting in this area. Two years later, with the breakout of World War II, Lillian and her two young children boarded the Mariposa headed for San Francisco. Dr. Whitacre returned to the US at a later date. Reluctant to part with the collection she so carefully created, Lillian persuaded the Rockefeller Foundation to transport the pieces to the United States. The furniture, paintings, and works of art collected during the Whitacre’s days in Beijing have resided with the family since that time.
AN UNUSUAL HUANGHUALI ROUND LOW TABLE

18TH-19TH CENTURY

Details
AN UNUSUAL HUANGHUALI ROUND LOW TABLE
18TH-19TH CENTURY
The top is set in a circular frame above a narrow waist and cusped, beaded aprons. The whole is raised on beaded, shaped legs joined by a circular base stretcher, further supported on small tab feet.
13 in. (33 cm.) high, 33 1⁄2 in. (85.1 cm.) diam.
Provenance
The Collection of Dr. Frank E. (1897-1971) and Lillian (1907-1986) Whitacre, acquired between 1938-1939, and thence by descent within the family.
Special notice
Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

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Rufus Chen (陳嘉安)
Rufus Chen (陳嘉安) Head of Sale, AVP, Specialist
+1 212 636 2180

Lot Essay


This unusual circular table was probably used to support a large vessel or drum. A similar circular stand supported on cabriole legs and carved with lion masks and scrolling tendrils is illustrated by R.H. Ellsworth in Chinese Furniture: One Hundred Examples from the Mimi and Raymond Hung Collection, New York, 1996, pp. 124-125, no. 42. The painting Night Revels of Han Xizai by Tang Yin, dated to the Ming dynasty, depicts Han Xizai beating on a large drum supported by a tall circular table, similar to the present table, illustrated by L. Lin, Catalogue to the Special Exhibition of Furniture in Paintings, The National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1996, p. 64, no. 26. (Fig. 1).

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