Lot 4. A huanghuali kang table, kangji, Late Ming–early Qing dynasty; 101 by 64.8 by h. 30 cm. Estimate: 450,000 - 650,000 HKD. Lot sold: 604,800 HKD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the top set within a wide rectangular frame enclosed within a further edge, the edge of the frame moulding downward and inward to a shaped beaded-edged apron carved on each side with a pair of chilong, each cabriole leg with a mythical beast mask and corresponding claws.

Note: Powerfully carved with dragons and mythical beast masks, the current kangji is notable for its combination of clean lines and meticulous rendering of details.

Compare one similar but slightly larger example formerly from the collection of Wang Shixiang and now preserved in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated in Wang Shixiang, Mingshi jiaju yanjiu / Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture, Beijing, 2018, p. 77, no. B13.

Sotheby's. Monochrome III, Hong Kong, 22 April 2021