A MAGNIFICENT AND RARE CARVED ZITAN 'FLORAL SCROLL' HEXAGONAL TABLE QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

the flat hexagonal top resting on a constricted waist and protruding apron terminating with angular scroll 'feet', the apron set with six drawers, the apron gently tapering to straight legs accented with scroll feet detailed with a trefoil foliate motif, the waist bordered with a band enclosing a floral scroll above two further petal and ruyi-shaped lappets, the drawers centred with a handle forming the stamen of a stylised lotus blossom, the blossom flanked by undulating leaves and further blooms, the legs set with a hexagonal panel above the scroll feet, the panel intricately reticulated with a stylised lotus bloom wreathed in dense foliate of undulating leaves and further lotus blossoms

Yamanaka & Co., Tokyo.

Sekai kobijutsu daitenrankai [Antiques of the World exhibition], Yamanaka  & Co. and Tokyo Art Club, Osaka and Tokyo, 1932, cat. no. 770.

The table is a magnificent example preserved in extraordinarily good condition. As typical of all Imperial zitan furniture of this scale and quality, the table is comprised of multiple sections. Where these separate sections link, there are age cracks and shrinkage in places, resulting in minor gaps and cracks. There is an additional minor crack at the hexagonal panel. Of the six sections of floral borders below one of the drawers, one of the sections has been detached and broken into two fragments (photos available upon request), but is available to refix. Another section of 25cm, approximately 2/3 of the section is missing. Photos are available upon request. There are other minor cracks, shrinkage and surface wear. The upper surface of the table has been treated with a light polish, and consolidated at the joins.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Elaborate designs that merged European and Chinese forms and decorative motifs were intentionally chosen by the Qianlong Emperor in his desire to display imperial supremacy and grandeur. Chinese and Western artisans worked together in the Zaobanchu (Imperial Palace Workshops) to create highly decorative pieces that were often unique. While Ming dynasty furniture is characterised by the perfection of structure through sparsely-decorated designs, elaborate and deeply-carved decoration is a Qing innovation and the product of the emperors' emphasis on producing opulent pieces. Motifs such as acanthus leaves were particularly favoured in the decoration of the Qianlong Emperor’s magnificent European-style palaces located in the northern part of the Yuanmingyuan, which were designed to resemble the Trianon at Versailles. The romantic curling acanthus leaves on the present table provide a luscious setting for the central Chinese lotus bloom and the intricate floral scroll embellishing the drawers is related to the rocaille motif found in the architectural elements of the Yuanmingyuan complex; for example, compare the border on the fountain in the Western Façade of the Palace of the Tranquil Sea as depicted in an etching of the Yuanmingyuan, included in the exhibition From Beijing to Versailles. Artistic Relations Between China and France, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1997, cat. no. 100.

The drawers on each side of this table, coupled with its large size, suggest that it may have been employed as a games table. In its form and structure, it appears to combine two types of tables that were known from the Ming dynasty: the fan-shaped table (shanmianzhuo) and games table (qizhuo). Fan-shaped tables, whereby two of these rhomboid-form tables joined together to form a hexagonal table, are known from Ming and Qing paintings and prints; see a print by an anonymous early Qing painter depicted in Bai Mei Tu, vol. 3, no. 26, reproduced in Wang Shixiang, Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture. Ming and Early Qing Dynasties, vol. 1, Hong Kong, 1990, p. 74, fig. 2.27. A pair of zitan half-hexagonal tables carved with a similar scrolling design, but without drawers and with a pierced waist, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in A Treasury of Ming and Qing Dynasty Palace Furniture, vol. 1, Beijing, 2007, pl. 177, together with a half-circular table modelled with a similarly carved apron, pl. 178.

Tables for playing double sixes or chess were common from the Ming dynasty and often consisted of deep compartments and game boards that were hidden under a removable top. According to the catalogue accompanying the exhibition Beyond the Screen: Chinese Furniture of the 16th and 17th Centuries, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1996, p. 41, large desks with many drawers became popular in the latter part of the Qing dynasty as a result of Western influence, thus the drawers featured on each side of this table are a product of this exchange. A huanghuali square games table with both a removable top and hidden drawers (huomian qizuo), attributed to the 17th century, was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 3rd December 2008, lot 2531. For an English example of a multi-drawer table compare a George III Mahogany octagonal ‘Rent Table’, circa 1765, from the collection of Charles de Beistegui, Chateau de Groussay, France, sold at our Chateau de Groussay house sale, 2nd-6th June 1999, lot 1110.

The importance of this table is further indicated by the exotic zitan wood from which it is constructed. The most valued of all timber, zitan is characterised by its extremely fine and dense grain, which results in a pleasing heavy weight. The deep and subtle natural lustre, called baojiangliang in Chinese, is comparable to the texture of jade and develops with use; hence it is impossible to reproduce artificially. Its long growth period and limited availability in China made it particularly valuable and by the Qing dynasty measures were taken for its protection.

Zitan tables decorated in this fusion of Chinese and European plant and styles are rare, however this type of design was employed on various other zitan furnishings; for example see a chair decorated with dahlias, from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (II), Hong Kong, 2002, pl. 55. See also a finely carved zitan cabinet decorated with Western rococo floral motifs, from the Palace Museum published in Tian Jiaqing, 'Zitan and Zitan Furniture', Orientations, December, 1994, fig. 5; and a zitan throne sold in these rooms, 11th April 2008, lot 2825.