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Lot Essay
The recessed-leg table ranks among the most iconic and recognizable forms in classical Chinese furniture. Its elegant and restrained silhouette traces back to designs of the Song dynasty, with several known variations. The fundamental proportions of this form were adapted to create a range of furniture types, including large painting tables, smaller side tables, benches, and stools. Tables of the present size are typically identified as painting tables.
For a comparable huanghuali recessed-leg table, see the 16th-17th-century example illustrated by Wang Shixiang and Curtis Evarts in Masterpieces from the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture, Chicago, 1995, p. 114, no. 54, later sold at Christie’s New York, 19 September 1996, lot 75. Evarts also notes that this table form appears frequently in paintings dating as far back as the Song dynasty (960–1279). See also Robert D. Jacobsen and Nicholas Grindley, Classical Chinese Furniture in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, 1999, pp. 122–123, no. 40, for a similar example dated to the 17th century.
A 17th century huanghuali painting table with slightly larger proportions sold at Sotheby's Paris, 14 June 2024, lot 139.
For a comparable huanghuali recessed-leg table, see the 16th-17th-century example illustrated by Wang Shixiang and Curtis Evarts in Masterpieces from the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture, Chicago, 1995, p. 114, no. 54, later sold at Christie’s New York, 19 September 1996, lot 75. Evarts also notes that this table form appears frequently in paintings dating as far back as the Song dynasty (960–1279). See also Robert D. Jacobsen and Nicholas Grindley, Classical Chinese Furniture in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, 1999, pp. 122–123, no. 40, for a similar example dated to the 17th century.
A 17th century huanghuali painting table with slightly larger proportions sold at Sotheby's Paris, 14 June 2024, lot 139.