Note: Understated in its elegant form, this table represents one of the most versatile and beloved designs in Chinese furniture. Historically referred to as the 'character one table’ (yi zi zhuo, resembling the single horizontal stroke of the Chinese character for 'one’) or simply as the ‘standard table’, this design appears to have been in constant use from at least as early as the Song dynasty. Made in a range of sizes and dimensions, the light and simple form of these pieces meant they could be easily moved from one location to another for a range of household occasions. The present lot is notable for its remarkable width and was likely used for painting. Wide enough to accommodate a large piece of calligraphy paper, this piece would have allowed an artist or literatus to stand comfortably with brush in hand.

Comparable pieces of a similar massive size are rare. See a huanghuali example of similar size and three-board construction from the MQJ Collection illustrated in Grace Wu, The Best of The Best: The MQJ Collection of Ming Furniture, vol. I, Beijing, 2017, pp. 170-175; a zitan example from the Palace Museum, Beijing, of similar size and design with square-sectioned legs is illustrated in Wang Shixiang, Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture, vol. II, Hong Kong, 1990, pl. B115; and another of huanghuali, of narrower proportions, is illustrated in Classical Chinese Furniture in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, 1999, no. 40. Compare also smaller huanghuali examples of the same design including one from the collection of Miriam and Ira D. Wallach, sold in our New York rooms, 19th/20th March 2013, lot 466; another was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 22nd April 2021, lot 47; and another, smaller still, was sold in our New York rooms, 23rd March 2022, lot 374.