Lot 118. A huanghuali summer-winter table, Late Ming-early Qing dynasty; 20.8 by 34.8 by 34.8 cm., 8 5/8  by 13 5/8  by 13 5/8  in. Estimate 1,800,000 — 2,800,000 Lot Sold 3,920,000 HKD (450,627 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's.

the top of standard mitre, mortise and tenon frame construction with a two-board, flush, tongue-and-grooved, floating panel supported by three dovetailed transverse stretchers, two with exposed tenons, the short sides of the frame top with further exposed tenons, the edge of the frame decorated with a groove in the centre and moulding downward and inward to end in a narrow flat band, all above the recessed waist and the curvilinear, beaded-edged apron, made of one piece of wood and exquisitely carved with lingzhi fungus and ducks, half-lapped onto and mortised and tennoned into the legs, the upper section of each full leg in the shape of a short cabriole leg ending in an open-mouth mythical beast mask, the removable lower section of each leg of square section with deeply grooved corners, extending to the full length of the leg, fitting into the back of the upper section and double mortise-and-tennoned to the top, the underside of the aprons and the cabriole legs mortise-and-tennoned with scroll-shaped spandrels.

Exhibited: In Pursuit of Antiquities: Thirty-fifth Anniversary Exhibition of the Min Chiu Society, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1995-96, cat. no. 251, p. 279.
Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colarado, 1997-99.
Grace Wu Bruce, Chan Chair and Qin Bench: The Dr. S. Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture II, Art Museum, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1998, cat. no. 19, pp. 96-97.

Literature: Grace Wu Bruce, 'Ming Furniture: Some Examples of Fakes and Forgeries and Their Methods of Detection', Orientations, January 1992, p. 52.

Note: "The carved apron is striking, and accentuated by the scrolled shaped spandrels. The open mouth monster beasts serve as feet when the long legs are detached, a clever and pleasing design for dual purposes."

This table serves the dual purpose of being placed on the floor when at full height and on the kang when the plain legs are removed.

There are extant examples of a small family of tables of this design, mostly rectangular banzhuo side tables. Their distinct features are the combination of a standard kang table in the top section, with legs extending below, usually round, and some examples are capped by vase-shaped feet. Also typical are the spandrels between the aprons and the legs, in various shapes and designs. This piece is more special, with the added feature of removable legs.

A similar dual usage square table but without carved decorations on the aprons is illustrated in Wang Shixiang et al., Masterpieces from the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture, Chicago and San Francisco, 1995, pp.106-107.

Sotheby's. Ming Furniture – The Dr S Y Yip Collection, Hong Kong, 07 October 2015