Important Chinese Art
Important Chinese Art
Property from the Collection of Don Lichty
A 'huanghuali'-veneered recessed-leg table (Qiaotouan), Qing dynasty, 18th / 19th century | 清十八 / 十九世紀 黃花梨單板夾頭榫鳳紋牙頭透雕龍紋擋板翹頭案
Auction Closed
September 22, 04:06 PM GMT
Estimate
60,000 - 80,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
A 'huanghuali'-veneered recessed-leg table (Qiaotouan)
Qing dynasty, 18th / 19th century
清十八 / 十九世紀 黃花梨單板夾頭榫鳳紋牙頭透雕龍紋擋板翹頭案
the veneered top terminating in everted flanges, the paneled frame with a molded edge over a beaded straight apron with spandrels, each elaborately carved and pierced in the form of a crested phoenix with pointed beaks and long hooded eyes and scroll wings, the beaded-edge square section legs centered with double fillets running the length of the legs, joined by an openwork panel carved and pierced with a design of addorsed dragons with curled snouts touching and long, elaborately scrolling tails, all raised on a pair of trestle feet
Height 34½ in., 87.6 cm; Width 77¼ in., 196.2 cm; Depth 20⅞ in., 53 cm
Grace Wu Bruce, Hong Kong, 1999.
來源
嘉木堂，香港，1999年
Large and impressive, long tables such as the present example were designed to be placed against the wall of a central room and set with antiquities, vases of flowers, or perhaps religious sculptures and bowls of offerings, all between gently flaring flanges. The archaistic dragon panels and phoenix spandrels form complementary imagery connoting auspicious wishes for a harmonious household. The bold form and lustrous, shimmering hardwood would have been a suitable adornment in the central room of an elite, affluent family.
A table with similarly carved dragon panels and phoenix-form spandrels sold in our Hong Kong rooms 11th October 2020, lot 111. Other related examples include a table sold in our London rooms 4th November 2020, lot 121 and another at Christie’s New York, 18th March 2021, lot 839. A dismountable plank-top table of similar form and motifs is in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis (acc. no. 97.25.1A-I).