CHINE, XVIIÈME SIÈCLE

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. The present lot may be compared to a table of similar form, finely carved on the spandrels with an intricate scrollwork design, sold at Christie's New York, The Collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth Part I: Masterworks: Including Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Works of Art, Chinese and Japanese Works of Art, 17 March 2015, lot 48; and to the rare trestle leg table with shaped spandrels pierced with a ruyi motif sold at Christie's New York, 22 March 2019, lot 1663.