Lot 3026. A huanghuali side table, pingtouan, Late Ming dynasty; 80.5 by 155.2 by 50.6 cm, 31 3/4  by 61 1/8  by 20 in. Estimate 950,000 — 1,200,000 HKD (121,505 - 153,480 USD). Lot Sold 1,000,000 HKD. © Sotheby's 2018

the top of standard mitre, mortise and tenon construction, with a tongue-and-grooved, floating panel supported by four dovetailed transverse stretchers and an additional cross stretcher underneath, all with exposed tenons, the edge of the frame gently moulded and ending in a beaded edge, the splayed round legs double tennoned into the top and cut to house the shaped spandrelled apron, each pair of legs conjoined on the shorter sides with two oval-sectioned stretchers.

Note: Drawing inspiration from ancient Chinese wooden architecture, the enduring elegance of this classical table is evident in its constant popularity though the generations with no changes made other than variations in dimensions to suit the household. Tables of this form and of this size were designed as surfaces on which to paint, practise calligraphy or perhaps play the qin. The height, depth and absence of high stretchers would allow an artist adequate space and the ability to stand or sit and use the brush on a paper or silk surface. 

For other tables of this form, see Wang Shixiang, Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture, Ming and Early Qing Dynasties, Hong Kong, 1990, pl. B81 and a painting table illustrated in Grace Wu Bruce, Dreams of Chu Tan Chamber and the Romance with Huanghuali Wood, The Dr. S. Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture, Hong Kong, 1991, cat. no. 22 and sold in our Hong Kong rooms 7th October 2015, lot 130. See also another similar example in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated in Craig Clunas, Chinese Furniture, Victoria and Albert Museum Far Eastern Series, London, 1988, p. 46.

Sotheby's. Curiosity IV. Hong Kong, 02 Apr 2018, 10:30 AM