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Lot Essay
Demountable trestle-leg tables, which are made to be easily disassembled to facilitate transport, are quite rare, and few extant examples are known. The proportions of the present table, and generous use of large, single planks and panels of huanghuali, suggest an early date, as members generally became smaller due to the shortage of huanghuali in subsequent years. The method of demountable construction is most often seen on these early examples with thick and heavy plank tops, as it made the transportation of such tables much easier.
The superb level of craftsmanship, and style of carving seen on the present table also closely relate to that seen on a larger (368 cm.) imperial huanghuali demountable trestle-leg table in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (I), Hong Kong, 2002, p. 144, no. 124. (Figs. 1 & 2).
The superb level of craftsmanship, and style of carving seen on the present table also closely relate to that seen on a larger (368 cm.) imperial huanghuali demountable trestle-leg table in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (I), Hong Kong, 2002, p. 144, no. 124. (Figs. 1 & 2).