A Chinese ‘Huanghuali’ Bamboo-Form Corner Leg Table (Banzhuo), Qing Dynasty, 18th Century | 清十八世紀 黃花梨裹腿做高羅鍋棖半桌

Collection of Gangolf Geis;

Christie’s New York, 18 September 2003, lot 19;

Where acquired by Aso O. Tavitian.

Gangolf Geis 收藏

紐約佳士得2003年9月18日，編號19

購於上述來源

This charming table, with its elegant rounded corners and sinuous stretchers, playfully imitates lightweight vernacular bamboo furniture despite being carved from dense, luxurious huanghuali. Commonly illustrated in paintings of the Song and Ming dynasties, bamboo furniture was used in a variety of settings and was appreciated for its versatility, but also for its connotations of simplicity and rusticity. Traditional bamboo furniture makers heated the material before wrapping it around other members to create the form of the furniture; the craftsmen of the present table cleverly imitate the ‘wrapped’ aesthetic of bamboo furniture by cushion-moulding the edges of the top frame, aprons, and stretchers. Beyond its aesthetic similarities, the construction references the traditional wrapping method by carving the aprons and stretchers to encircle the cylindrical legs. The resulting form is not only elegant in appearance but demonstrates with aplomb the technical mastery of the artisan. 

Tables with the dimensions of the present example are often referred to as banzhuo (half tables), given that they are roughly one-half the dimensions of a traditional square ‘Immortal’ table. Such tables could be used as side tables in the bedroom or studio, or could be added to square tables to extend the dining space in the event of company. It is not surprising, therefore, that square tables of similar form are also known. See, for example, a huanghuali bamboo-form square table in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, illustrated by Robert Jacobsen and Nicholas Grindley in Classical Chinese Furniture in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis 1999, p.133, no. 44.

A huanghuali table of very similar size and ‘bamboo style’ triple-reeded apron is in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (I), Hong Kong 2002, pl. 93. See also a large related painting table from the collection of Dr. S. Y. Yip, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 6 October 2015, lot 106.