Lot 835. An unusual huanghuali round low table, 18th-19th century; 13 in. (33 cm.) high, 33 ½ in. (85.1 cm.) diam. EstimateUSD 20,000 - USD 30,000. Price realised USD 822,000. © Christie's 2021 

The attractively-grained single-panel top is raised on thick, inward-curving legs terminating in scroll-form feet.

Dr. Frank E. Whitacre (1897-1971) and his family arrived in Beijing, where he assumed the role of Head of the Obstetrics and Gynecology department at Peking Union Medical College, a post sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation. His wife Lillian (1907-1986), a graduate of Oberlin College and the University of Pittsburgh, developed an interest in Chinese furniture and works of art, and began studying and collecting in this area. Two years later, with the breakout of World War II, Lillian and her two young children boarded the Mariposa headed for San Francisco. Dr. Whitacre returned to the US at a later date. Reluctant to part with the collection she so carefully created, Lillian persuaded the Rockefeller Foundation to transport the pieces to the United States. The furniture, paintings, and works of art collected during the Whitacre’s days in Beijing have resided with the family since that time.

Note: This unusual circular table was probably used to support a large vessel or drum. A similar circular stand supported on cabriole legs and carved with lion masks and scrolling tendrils is illustrated by R.H. Ellsworth in Chinese Furniture: One Hundred Examples from the Mimi and Raymond Hung Collection, New York, 1996, pp. 124-125, no. 42.