Page 49 - Sotheby's Part I Collection of Sir Joeseph Hotung Collection CHINESE ART , Oct. 9, 2022

The Song dynasty saw an unprecedented development and aesthetic
appreciation of Chinese furniture, which continued to flourish over
the years, reaching new heights during the Ming dynasty. Pleasing in
proportions, the present table epitomises the minimalistic aesthetics
of Ming furniture. The restrained elegance of this table is achieved
through the rounded edges and circular legs, superbly designed
to imitate their bamboo counterparts. The humpback stretchers
gracefully join the aprons, providing extra legroom for the sitter. The
use of precious hardwood to simulate common materials reflects the
contemporaneous emphasis on subtlety over opulence.

Compare a larger bamboo-imitation painting table with similar
aprons, but with the humpback stretchers wrapping around the legs,
or guotui in Chinese, from the Dr S.Y. Yip collection, exhibited at
Dreams of Chu Tan Chamber and the Romance with Huanghuali
Wood: The Dr. S. Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture, Art
Museum, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1991, cat.
no. 24, and sold at these rooms, 7th October 2015, lot 106. A shorter
huanghuali example with braces and guotui humpback stretchers in
the Palace Museum, Beijing, is published in The Complete Collection
of Ming and Qing furniture in the Palace Museum, Beijing, 2015, vol.
7: Table, pl. 73. A related zitan bamboo-imitation table of larger
proportions but without aprons is illustrated in Wang Shixiang, Wang
Shixiang ji: Ming shi jiaju yanjiu [Collected works of Wang Shixiang:
Ming-style furniture research], Beijing, 2013, pl. B109.

96 I FOR COMPLETE CATALOGUING ༉းྡ፽ʫ࢙ሗᓭᚎ SOTHEBYS.COM/HK1293 THE PERSONAL COLLECTION OF THE LATE SIR JOSEPH HOTUNG I 97