Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, New York, 18 march 2021
A very rare huanghuali trestle-leg table, 18th century
Lot 839. A very rare huanghuali trestle-leg table, 18th century; 36 in. (91.5 cm.) high, 65 ½ in. (166.5 cm.) wide, 17 ¼ in. (44.5 cm.) deep. EstimateUSD 40,000 - USD 60,000. Price realised USD 450,000. © Christie's 2021
The single-panel top is set in a molded, rectangular frame fitted with everted ends, above the plain, beaded apron and spandrels finely carved with chilong. The molded legs are joined by an openwork panel carved with lingzhi stems and supported on shoe-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.