17TH CENTURY

Details

A SMALL HUANGHUALI ROCK TABLE
17TH CENTURY
The single, small, floating panel top is set in a rectangular frame above a tall waist and plain, beaded apron. The whole is raised on beaded legs of square section terminating in finely carved hoof feet.
30 ¼ in. (76.8 cm.) high, 30 ¾ in. (78.2 cm.) wide, 13 ¾ in. (35 cm.) deep

Provenance

Barling of Mount Street, Ltd., London, 1991.

Special Notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

Lot Essay

Of elegant proportions and form, the present table would most likely have been used to support a scholar's rock. The use of hefty transverse stretchers and the sturdier leg joint at the corners indicate that the table was meant to carry an object of great weight. This specific joint is taller on the waist and appears on the exterior as a block. Each leg tenons directly into the bottom of the frame, and the waist and the apron fit directly into the leg. 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. The strength of this joint allows for the table to be supported without stretchers, thereby creating a lighter and more rarefied form. A larger huanghuali burl-inset table with similar joint is illustrated in Grace Wu Bruce, The Best of the MQJ Collection of Ming Furniture, vol. 1, Beijing, 2018, pp. 112-15, and is further supported by 'giant arm's' braces.

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