17TH CENTURY

The elegant simplicity of this table exemplifies the restrained yet sophisticated aesthetic of Ming furniture. The framed top is fitted with subtly upturned ends above a tall waist, plain apron, and ‘giant's arm’ braces, all raised on elegant legs terminating in hoof feet. The absence of humpback stretchers, in favor of a sturdier leg joint at the corner that extends beyond the top of the leg and fits directly into the base of the top frame, imparts a sense of balance and rigor found at the heart of Ming furniture design. Wang Shixiang illustrates a line drawing of this joint in Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture: Ming and Early Qing Dynasties, vol. I, Hong Kong, 1990, p. 121. no 3.32a.

Tables of this form, featuring the high waist, are frequently depicted in Ming-dynasty woodblock prints. Often seen placed against walls or beds, these tables are shown displaying antiques or rocks or holding lutes. Though frequently found in Ming-dynasty prints, there are few extant examples of this form, with or without ‘giant's arm’ braces, suggesting the more delicate design was not as durable as their counterparts with humpback stretchers. A larger huanghuali table with a similar tall waist and with legs terminating in hoof feet, and supported by ‘giant’s arm’ braces is illustrated, by N. Berliner in Beyond the Screen: Chinese Furniture of the 16th and 17th Centuries, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Boston, 1996, p. 130, no. 20. A smaller huanghuali ‘rock’ table with similar joint, but constructed without ‘giant's arm’ braces, was sold at Christie’s New York, 22 March 2019, lot 1669.