A HUANGHUALI CORNER-LEG TABLE (TIAOZHUO) QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

of simianping, 'four sides flush', form, with a two panel top enclosed by a wide, straight-edged, beaded frame set directly upon slender square-section leg, joined by plain spandreled aprons, beaded to the inside edge terminating in angular-scroll hoof feet carved, the underside with three supporting transverse braces

There is slight shrinkage to top panel. There are filled and patched repairs to a split to the top board. There is general consolidation of joinery. The spandreled aprons are possibly later added. One short end of top frame has a filled diagonal split extending to the outside edge.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present table is a good example of simianping or ‘four corner’s flush’ construction with legs set flush against the table top joined by spandrels to add stability and strength. This restrained design, considered one of the most attractive in Chinese furniture, is believed to derive from box-like platforms often depicted in paintings from the Tang dynasty (618-906), where they were used as tables, seats and beds; for example see the high platform with low stretchers, painted on the wall of cave 112 in Dunhuang, illustrated in Sarah Handler, Austere Luminosity of Chinese Classical Furniture, Berkeley, 2001, pl. 8.7.

Rectangular waistless tables of this type are more commonly known with humpback stretchers, such as one illustrated in Grace Wu Bruce, Ming Furniture, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 3, and sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28th November 2012, lot 2040; another illustrated in Grace Wu Bruce, Living with Ming. The Lu Ming Shi Collection, Hong Kong, 2000, pl. 23; two tables sold at Christie’s New York, the first, from the collection of Mr and Mrs Robert P. Piccus, 21st September 2000, lot 35, and the second from the collection of William Lipton, 17th September 2008, lot 153; and a slightly smaller example attributed to the 17th century, sold in our New York rooms, 9th/10th October 1987, lot 429. Compare also a huanghuali waistless table of this type but lacking the stretchers, illustrated in Gustav Ecke, Chinese Domestic Furniture, Rutland, 1962, pl. 15.