Page 97 - Christies March 16, 2017 The Varata Collection NYC

A similar fush-corner table of smaller proportions, formerly in the collection of 可參考安思遠(Robert H. Ellsworth)舊藏一同類型但體積較小的四面平式桌，
Robert H. Ellsworth, was sold at Christie’s New York, 18 March 2015, lot. 136. 於紐約佳士得拍出，2015年3月28日，拍品136號。雖然至今仍無經著錄之例在
Although there appear to be no published comparable examples of this unusual 形制上與本桌相符，然而同類局部裝飾元素尚可見於其他四面平桌。最為突出
design and form, individual decorative elements on the present example can be seen 之特徵乃連接各腿之橫棖。此現象可追溯自宋代，常見為正面安一棖，側面安二
on other fush-corner waistless tables. The most distinctive feature is the straight 棖。如南宋畫家劉松年(1174-1224)繪，現藏臺北故宮博物院之《唐五學士圖》
stretcher joining the legs on each side. This feature is found on Song-dynasty 所示，三學士圍坐之嵌大理石桌，足腿用方材，結構與此拍品同。
examples, commonly with one stretcher along the long sides and two along the
short sides. The painting Five Scholars of the Tang by the Southern Song dynasty 柯惕思(Curtis Evarts)在《可樂居選藏山西傳統家具》(C.L. Ma Collection:
painter Liu Songnian (1174-1224) in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, shows Traditional Chinese Furniture from the Greater Shanxi Region) 書中一文
three scholars seated at a marble-inset table with square-section legs joined in this 提到直管橫棖隨著榫卯技術的發展而日漸消失，惟見於清代一些地方民間家具
confguration. (71頁)。文中提及皮博迪艾塞克斯(Peabody Essex)博物館藏一嵌石櫸木案，
帶大清康熙元年(公元1662年)刻款，收錄於楠希·白靈安（Nancy Berliner）
In an essay published in C.L. Ma Collection: Traditional Chinese Furniture from the 《中國村鎮家具》(Friends of the House: Furniture from China’s Towns
Greater Shanxi Region, Curtis Evarts writes that straight stretchers “had virtually and Villages)，1995年，編號31。本拍品使用名貴的黃花梨木，說明它並非出
disappeared as a result of developed joinery techniques”, however examples of 自庶民，而是受豐富的地域性設計元素所啟發而已。
this type can be found in some Qing provincial pieces (p. 71). He references a
jumu stone-inset recessed-leg table in the Peabody Essex Museum inscribed on 桌面與橫棖之間加上之如意頭形卡子花，較常見於清初漆桌。見一填漆戧金例，
the underside with a Kangxi date of 1662, illustrated by Nancy Berliner, Friends 著錄於《故宮文物珍品全集―明清家具》上冊，卷53，北京，2002年，編號99
of the House: Furniture from China’s Towns and Villages, Peabody Essex Museum ，其如意頭形卡子花與本桌相頗爲相似。牙條下方抱肩榫則為另一清初漆桌特
Collections, 1995, no. 31. The use of precious huanghuali wood suggests that the 徵。本桌之結構亦頗為罕見，因其所使用之托角榫結構一般較常用於椅具之牙條
present table is not a provincial example, but draws instead from the rich vocabulary 抑或案類之牙頭｡
of regional designs.

The ruyi-shaped motifs between the stretchers and the underside of the top are
more commonly seen in early Qing lacquer tables. See, Furniture of the Ming and
Qing Dynasties (I): The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum,
Vol. 53, Beijing, 2002, no. 99, for a qiangjin and tianqi lacquer example with similar
upright ruyi struts. The mitred corner brackets below the apron are another feature
seen on early Qing lacquer examples. The placement on the present table is a bit
unusual, as these corner brackets are more often found on the aprons of chairs or
the spandrels of inset-leg tables.

As published by Robert Ellsworth. Courtesy of Hei Hung Lu
本拍品經安思遠著錄。圖片提供：黑洪祿

THE MARIE THERESA L. V I R ATA C O L L E C T I O N OF ASIAN ART: A FAMILY LEGACY 95