A HUANGHUALI KANG TABLE, KANGZHUO

17TH CENTURY

Details

A HUANGHUALI KANG TABLE, KANGZHUO
17th Century
The rectangular paneled top with "water-stopping" molding above a convex waist, supported on square-section, pronounced cabriole legs ending in strongly carved claw feet, the fierce animal-mask terminals with gaping mouth, bulging eyes, prominent nose and streaming hair joined by a beaded apron well carved with pairs of vigorously striding dragons flanking scrolling tendrils
11in. (27.9cm.) high, 27.1/8in. (68.8cm.) wide, 20in. (50.8cm.) deep

Literature

Curtis Evarts, ''Classical Chinese Furniture in the Piccus Collection'', Journal of the Classical Chinese Furniture Society Autumn 1992, p. 22, fig. 25

Lot Essay

The unusually small size and occurence of a convex waist are rare among kang tables. A rectangular example without the convex waist was included in the exhibition, The Dr. S.Y. Yip Collection of Classical Chinese Furniture, Hong Kong, 1991, and illustrated by Grace Wu Bruce in the Catalogue, no. 30, where it is noted that while dragons are frequently carved on the aprons of full-sized tables, the ball-and-claw foot and lion mask are, it seems, reserved for beds and kang tables. A rectangular example, but without dragon heads at the corners, was included in the exhibition, The Beauty of Huanghuali, Taipei: Art Asia, 1995, and illustrated by John Kwang-Ming Ang in the Catalogue, p. 51, no. 19