A large huanghuali recessed-leg table, qiaotou'an Late Ming dynasty | 明末 黃花梨夾頭榫獨板翹頭案

Deng Nanwei, Magnificent Yellow: Huang Hua Li Furniture of Ming and Qing Dynasties, vol. 2, Beijing, 2016, pl. 053.

鄧南威，《雋永姚黃．中國明清黃花梨家具》，下卷，北京，2016年，圖版053

Precisely notable for their eponymous upturned ends, tables of this type, qiaotou'an, were produced in varying forms. Such tables are depicted in the woodblock illustrated books and paintings from the Ming and Qing dynasties, in which their versatility is demonstrated. The larger examples, exuding solemnity and austerity, were often placed with ritual implements and functioned as altar tables before figures of Buddhist deities whilst those of relatively smaller form such as the current one were likely used in scholars’ studios and reception halls and lent an air of refined elegance.

The striking clean lines of such tables’ silhouettes are indicative of the superior skills of the craftsmen to strike a remarkable balance between aesthetics and functionality. The seemingly simple yet highly laborious construction, complemented with the most valued hardwood, truly testifies to the timeless aesthetic of 17th century craftsmanship.

通體黃花梨，案面獨板，兩端裝小翹頭。面下四腿以夾頭榫各夾捲草花牙，直牙板下壓燈草陽線。直腿帶側角，面起兩柱香陽線，邊緣壓雙線。前後腿間各有二棖，均為方材。此案線條俊美樸實，盡顯明朝家具的風度及氣勢。

翹頭案形制多樣，案面兩端翹起飛角，別具風雅。明清版畫給中國家具的研究提供了珍貴的影像資料，插圖中所見翹頭案用途多樣，造型碩大者置於佛前作為供案，擺放禮佛供器，渺渺香煙，氣氛莊嚴肅穆。雅致者如此桌，深受文人雅仕青睞，為書齋或廳堂不可缺失之物，展示了當代雅而尚禮的審美情趣。

翹頭案雕飾簡雅，線條流暢，予人視覺上的美感，既是令人賞心悅目的藝術品，也具實用價值的生活用品。簡練且複雜的工藝配以珍貴堅韌的黃花梨，使之藝術魅力經歷數百年而不衰。