CHINA, 17TH CENTURY

There are relatively few extant examples of this specific design of stool. Of ‘four-corners flush’ form, the stool is distinguished by the deeply, cusped apron carved at the midpoint with a lotus flower and supported on shaped, beaded legs terminating in hoof feet. The elegantly shaped apron and decorative carved elements at the midpoint of the legs recall design motifs seen in wine tables constructed with flush-mitred joints. A huanghuali rectangular corner-leg table with tall waist, cusped aprons and similarly carved legs is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (I), Hong Kong, 2002, p. 104, no. 87.

A larger rectangular huanghuali flush-corner stool of similar design is illustrated in C. Evarts, Liang Yi Collection. Vol I. Huanghuali, Hong Kong, 2007, pp. 40-41, no. 1. Compare a similar huanghuali waistless flush corner-leg stool sold in A Connoisseur’s Studio – the Cissy and Robert Tang Collection of Chinese Classical Furniture; Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 May 2023, lot 2714 and another of related design sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 9 July 2020, lot 2899.