A RARE LARGE HUANGHUALI FLAT-TOP RECESSED-LEG TABLE, PINGTOU'AN
17th/18th centuryThe table top of standard miter, mortise and tenon construction, enclosing a two-board round-cornered floating panel supported underneath by dovetailed transverse stretchers, the cylindrical legs double tenoned into the top and cut to house the plain spandrelled apron, with two oval-sectioned stretchers joining each pair of legs. 221.5cm (87 2/8in) wide x 90cm (35 1/2in) high x 50.5cm (19 7/8in) deep.
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十七/十八世紀 黃花梨夾頭榫大平頭案Provenance: an important European private collection來源:歐洲重要私人收藏Made from prized huanghuali wood of attractively warm brown and amber tones, and set with a lively-grained two-board top, the present table is a remarkable example of one of the most versatile and popular designs in Chinese furniture. The popularity of this linear form is evident in its continuous popularity without any major evolution in the design. The elegant wood grain and the smoothly-finished joinery of the present example indicate that this table would have belonged to a high-ranking member of the court or a scholar. Recessed-leg tables were historically referred to as 'character one' tables yi zi zhuo shi, as the single horizontal stroke of the Chinese character for the numeral 'one' resembles this linear form. This design appears to have derived from standard wood building construction employed from as early as the Han dynasty. This particular design with side stretchers is known from as early as the Song dynasty (960-1279), when tables with bridle and tenon joints, a continuous apron with small spandrels, and double stretchers at the sides were produced. See two recessed-leg tables depicted in a painting entitled 'Country Boys Playing in Class', attributed to the Song period and illustrated by Wang Shixiang, 'Development of Furniture Design and Construction from the Song to the Ming', Chinese Furniture: Selected Articles from Orientations 1984-1999, Hong Kong, 1999, p.55, pl.35.Because of their light and simple form, these tables could be easily moved from one location to another. They were usually placed against the wall in the main hall of the family compound where important visitors were received and family ceremonies took place; hence these tables became representative of their owner's status and level of refinement and functioned as surfaces on which to display cherished antiquities, artefacts, scroll paintings, to practice calligraphy and painting, and even play the qin; see S.Handler, Austere Luminosity of Chinese Classical Furniture, Berkeley, 2001, pp.224-238. Compare with a huanghuali recessed-leg table, 17th century, illustrated by R.D.Jacobsen and N.Grindley, Classical Chinese Furniture in the Minneapolis Museum of Arts, Minneapolis, 1999, pp.122-123, no.40. A similar huanghuali recessed-leg table, 17th century, was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 10 November 2015, lot 380. See also a rare huanghuali recessed-leg altar table, 18th century, which was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28 November 2012, lot 2028.黃花梨製,頂面標準榫卯攢邊框,鑲兩拼面心板,牙頭光素,腿子截面圓形,以兩根橫棖連接。結構清雅,渾厚圓實,木紋緻密,亮澤如蜜,盡現傳統中國家具之經典,細節間無不透露了原主人的顯赫身世。此類桌案歷史上被稱為「一字桌式」,蓋因平直的案形與漢字「一」相似。該造形似從漢代木造建築演化而來,宋代已可見此樣式,榫卯結構,沿邊嵌牙條,雙橫棖,並屢見於宋畫。參考明代仇英臨宋人畫冊之《村童鬧學圖》中所繪二條案,見王世襄著,〈Development of Furniture Design and Construction from the Song to the Ming〉,收錄於《Chinese Furniture: Selected Articles from Orientations 1984-1999》,香港,1999年,頁55,圖版35。平頭案由於質樸簡練,曲直合度,宜作多方用途,常於一戶正廳之中靠牆擺放,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。參考一件十七世紀黃花梨平頭案,見R.D.Jacobsen與N.Grindley著,《明尼阿波利斯藝術館藏中國古典家具》,明尼阿波利斯,1999年,頁122-123,編號40 。另有一件十七世紀黃花梨平頭案,與本例相似,售於香港佳士得,2015年11月10日,拍品編號380;及一件十八世紀黃花梨平頭案,售於香港佳士得,2012年11月28日,拍品編號2028,可資比對。
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