17TH-18TH CENTURY

The recessed-leg table is among the most well-known and immediately recognizable forms found in classical Chinese furniture construction. Tables of this elegant and restrained form, with the graceful splay of the legs, trace their origins to furniture design of the Song dynasty, and several variations on this type are known. The basic proportions were adapted to make large painting tables, smaller tables, benches and stools. Large single-panel huanghuali tables, such as the present example, are extremely rare. The panel is textured and enlivened by the active and beautifully-figured grain which nicely compliments the spare, economic lines typical of this form. Recessed-leg tables are notably seen in Ming-dynasty prints, gracing elegant interior spaces, and often holding assorted vases, archaic bronzes, scrolls, or table screens. A huanghuali table of similar form, but shorter in length, was sold at Christie’s New York, 22-23 March 2018, lot 964.