A RARE HUANGHUALI FLAT-TOP RECESSED-LEG TABLE, PINGTOU'AN
17th centuryThe long single-panel top set within a wide frame with 'ice-plate' edge, supported on robust recessed legs of round section joined by a plain apron and rounded rectangular spandrels, the sides with double oval-section stretchers joining the front and back legs, the precious wood of warm honey tone throughout. 171cm (67 1/2in) long x 83cm (32 6/8in) high x 53cm (20 1/8in) deep.
注脚
十七世紀 黃花梨平頭案Provenance: an important European private collection來源:歐洲重要私人收藏The simple yet elegant form of the present table is one of the most successful and recognisable designs of classical Chinese furniture, one that best epitomises a Chinese scholar's fondness for unassuming and functional furniture.The particularly fine grain and the rich honey-colour tone of the huanghuali timber, and the elegantly-finished surfaces of the present lot, show that it would have been made for a high-rank official or scholar.The basic proportions were adaptable to make large and smaller tables, benches and stools. This iconic Ming design is referred to in the 'Classic of Lu Ban' Lu Ban Jing, a carpentry manual dating to the early Ming dynasty, as a 'Character One Table' due to its similarity in profile to the single horizontal stroke of the Chinese character for the number one; see C.Clunas, Chinese Furniture, London, 1988, p.47.Incorporating a single-panel top of lustrous huanghuali, which would have been precious even during the 17th century, the present table is an example of the narrow version of this particular form. It would have been used in domestic as well as religious contexts and would most likely have been placed against a wall to display ornamental objects or support ceremonial offerings. For a further discussion regarding the importance of Chinese side tables and altar tables, see S.Handler, Austere Luminosity of Chinese Classical Furniture, Berkeley, 2001, pp.224-238. For a similar huanghuali recessed-leg table, 17th century, see Wang Shixiang, Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture, Hong Kong, 1990, vol.2, p.96, no.B81. See also a huanghuali painting table, 17th century, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, illustrated by C.Clunas, Chinese Furniture, London, 1988, p.46. Another similar example of a huanghuali pingtou'an, 17th century, was sold at Christie's London, 10 November 2015, lot 380.頂面標準榫卯攢邊框鑲獨板面心,牙頭光素,腿子截面圓形,以兩根橫棖連接,是中國古典家具體系中最為經典的條案式樣。明《魯班經匠家鏡》中將平頭案稱為「一字桌式」,蓋因平直的案形與漢字「一」相似。見柯律格著,《Chinese Furniture》,倫敦,1988年,頁47。平頭案線條平實簡約又富多樣性,可作為畫案、條案、各式承具實用,常於一戶正廳中靠牆擺放,用以展示古玩字畫,從而成為主人身份地位的象徵。見S.Handler著,《Austere Luminosity of Chinese Classical Furniture》,伯克利,2001年,頁224-238。雖然平頭案作為最廣為使用的桌案式樣,普遍見於古代中國各個階層,但觀本例木材之緻密、工藝之考究,且面心採用獨板製作,即便在當時也相當昂貴,應非尋常人家之用具。參考一件十七世紀黃花梨平頭案,見王世襄著,《明式家具研究》卷二,香港,1990年,頁96,編號B81。另有一張維多利亞和阿爾伯特博物館館藏十七世紀黃花梨畫案,收錄於柯律格著,《Chinese Furniture》,倫敦,1988年,頁46。倫敦佳士得於2015年11月10日所售一件十七世紀黃花梨平頭案,拍品編號380,與本例相似,可資比對。
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