AN IMPERIAL ZITAN SQUARE TABLE, FANGZHUO QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

with a plain panelled top and short indented frieze finely and profusely carved with acanthus-leaf scrolls above a ruyi  band, the shaped apron similarly carved with the leafy scrolls continuing onto the square-section legs, the legs terminating in squared scrolls and all joined by a base stretcher

Purchased at an English country auction.

The table is in overall very good condtion with an attractive finish and only very minor cracks and replacements. There is a 5mm fill to a shrinkage gap to the floating panel. One of the legs has a 13 cm crack to the inner leg. Another leg has a 10 cm crack also to the inner leg. Minor chips to the legs have been filled with wax. Two of the pads under the stretcher are possibly replaced.
"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."

The fineness and the skill of the carving of this table is closely comparable with the exceptional imperial zitan table, in the Art Institute of Chicago, illustrated in L. Mason, 'Examples of Ming Furniture in American Collections Formed Prior to 1980', Orientations, January, 1992, fig. 9, and its companion table sold in our New York rooms, 1st June 1994, lot 615. The two tables were purchased from the Palace Eunuchs circa 1911 by the Japanese dealer Yamanaka from Osaka along with other imperial furnishings. The two tables remained together until the Kyoto and Osaka firms split in the 1930's. The Kyoto table was eventually bought by the Art Institute of Chicago in 1964, while the Osaka table was sold at a record price in 1994. Since that sale no zitan table of comparable quality has been identified until the present piece.

The carving of this table is especially refined and deep. The design is also naturalistic and is not constrained in a rigidly patterned fashion typically seen on Qing furniture. Tables of this very high quality were likely either created in the furniture workshops of Beijing or Canton. Imperial furniture workshops were located in both cities and each produced fine quality zitan furniture for the Palace.

For the shape of this table see an undecorated hong table illustrated in Wang Shixiang, Classic Furniture. Ming and Early Qing Dynasties, London, 1986, p. 280, pl. 81, where the author notes that 'the table is made of dark hong wood, which was a popular furniture wood during the Qing dynasty. However, as the shape of the table suggests a pre-Qing date, the hong wood, when seen from the distance, could be mistaken for zitan wood'.  This clearly shows how special and rare zitan furniture was during the Qing period. 

See a large imperial zitan table used for the examining of paintings (dahua zuo) sold in our New York rooms, 3rd June 1992, lot 358, carved principally with an archaistic design; and another, also sold in our New York rooms, 26th November 1991, lot 499.