Page 205 - 2020 October 8 HK Fine Classical Paintings

This exquisite table is special for its finely carved aprons and 牙條輪廓圓轉，刀法秀逸，正面雕雙鳳朝陽，獨具一
spandrels, which include a lively depiction of phoenix among 格。此桌為半桌，雕飾精繁，殊為罕見，上部形如炕
clouds flanking the sun. It belongs to a highly unusual group of 桌，王世襄名之曰「矮桌展腿式」。十七世紀家具多
profusely decorated side tables, whose upper part resembles
a kang table – low tables used on the heated kang. 尚素淨，然此類半桌不吝華飾，融不同家具風格於一
The well-known Chinese furniture scholar Wang Shixiang 身，別有韻致。
thus refers to them as ai zhuo zhan tui shi or ‘low table with
extended legs’. The abundance of carved decoration on these 與此桌類似者極少，僅兩例有載：其一，王世襄舊
tables represents a clear departure from the clean and sober 藏，現上海博物館蓄，錄於王世襄，《明式家具珍
aesthetics more commonly associated with 17th century 賞》，香港，1985年，圖版84；其二，曾展於《屏
furniture, and demonstrates the co-existence of different
furniture styles in this period. 居佳器：十六、十七世紀中國家具》，波士頓美術
館，1996年，編號22。
Tables of this design are very rare and only two closely related
examples appear to have been published; a table from the
collection of Wang Shixiang, now in the Shanghai Museum, is 相類雕飾亦用於方桌，如一例，帶卷形牙頭，牙條雕
illustrated in Wang Shixiang, Classic Chinese Furniture. Ming 龍，藏北京故宮博物院，錄於胡德生，《A Treasury of
and Early Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1985, pl. 84; and one Ming and Qing Dynasty Palace Furniture》，北京，2007
included in the exhibition Beyond the Screen. Chinese Furniture 年，卷1，圖版166；另一例，腿足可拆卸，攻玉山房
of the 16th and 17th Centuries, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,
1996, cat. no. 22. 舊藏，售於香港蘇富比2015年10月7日，編號118。
A related design is found on square tables, including one with 現例帶蕉葉邊束腰及壼門牙條，線條流暢，紋飾柔
scroll-shaped spandrels and dragons on the apron, in the
Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Hu Desheng, A Treasury 婉。正面牙條作雙鳳朝陽，寓意賢才逢明時，兩側牙
of Ming & Qing Dynasty Palace Furniture, Beijing, 2007, vol. I, 條則各雕鳥棲花枝。據王世襄，同時代錦緞圖案也繡
pl. 166; and a table with removable legs, from the collection of 雙鳳朝陽，萬曆五彩瓷器亦繪鳥棲花枝，見前述出
Dr S.Y. Yip, sold in these rooms, 7th October 2015, lot 118. 處，頁281。
The graceful curves of this piece, created by its undulated
waist and the shaped aprons, and its decoration are imbued
with a feminine quality. The long sides of the table are carved
with a motif of two phoenix facing the sun (shuangfeng
chaoyang), an omen for the arrival of enlightened men, while
the short sides with a pair of birds perched on flowering
branches. Wang Shixiang, op.cit., p. 281, suggests that the
former share similarities with designs found on contemporary
brocade, while the latter with polychrome porcelains of the
Wanli reign (r. 1573-1620).

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