Lot 3015. A huanghuali recessed-leg side table, 17th century; 83.5 by 112.3 by 46 cm, 32 7/8  by 44 1/8  by 18 1/8  in. Estimate 800,000 — 1,000,000 HKD (102,320 - 127,900 USD). Lot Sold 1,375,000 HKD. © Sotheby's 2018

the top of standard mitre, mortise and tenon construction enclosing a single floating panel, the edge of the frame gently moulded and ending in a flat narrow band, all supported on four gently splayed oval legs cut to house the openwork cusped spandrelled apron, each pair of legs conjoined on the shorter sides with two oval-sectioned stretchers.

Provenance: Eskenazi Ltd, London, 2002.

Note: Recessed legs tables with cusped spandrels and double stretchers were produced with straight and raised ends and of varying lengths from small highly mobile side tables, such as the present example to ample surfaces for painting and viewing large handscrolls. It is the success of the basic design with its pleasing proportions and balance of the rectilinear and curvilinear elements that allow for such wide adaptation.

A table of comparable design and size, catalogued as a wine table (jiuzhuo), is published by Wang Shixiang, Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture, vol. 2, Hong Kong, 1990, p. 77, fig. B35. See also a similar table illustrated in George N. Kates, Chinese Household Furniture, New York and London, 1948, no. 35.

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