Page 81 - March 17, 2020 Impotant Chinese Art, Sotheby's, New York

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A ‘ZITAN’ CORNER-LEG TABLE (TIAOZHUO) The latter half of the Qianlong period is generally considered
QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY the highpoint of finely carved zitan wood furnishings, often
integrating lively foliate motifs, as seen on the present
the rectangular top comprised of five boards of standard piece, reflecting the assimilation of European rococo design,
miter, mortise and tenon construction set within a molded- introduced to the imperial Qing Court by Jesuit missionaries.
edge, beaded frame and supported by four transverse The generous size of this elegant table suggests a special
stretchers underneath, the recessed waist pierced with a row commission to be used as a prominent display surface
of pendent lappets joined to a further band of overlapping in a grand room. Zitan was a rare commodity in the 18th
lappets by lingzhi-formed struts, the beaded-edge apron century due to its small size and slow pace of growth. For a
with a lively scrolling floral motif terminating in pierced discussion of zitan and its types, see Tian Jai Qing, ‘Zitan and
foliate spandrels on the corners of the squared-section legs Zitan Furniture’, Orientations, December 1994, pp 43-49.
terminating in foliate-carved scroll-hoof feet, the wood a
variegated dark brown Given the rarity of the wood, individualization of design is a
Height 36⅝ in., 93 cm; Width 66½ in., 168.9 cm; Depth 23⅜ valued feature of zitan furniture. A related example of a zitan
in., 59.4 cm table featuring lappets on the waisted section is in the Qing
Court Collection and illustrated in The Complete Collection
PROVENANCE of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Furniture of the Ming
and Qing Dynasties (II), Hong Kong, 2002, pl. 106, p. 121. A
Sotheby’s New York, 20th March 2002, lot 320.
long table featuring archaistic elements on the waisted area
and the spandrels is illustrated in Tian Jiaqing, Zitan Yuan
(The Essence of Zitan), Beijing, 2007, no. 5, pp 30-33. See
also two examples sold in these rooms, a foliate-carved table
of similar form sold on 15th September 2010, lot 352 and
another with archaistic motifs on 17th September 2013,
lot 259.

◉ $ 80,000-120,000

清十八世紀 紫檀雕卷葉紋有束腰條桌

來源
紐約蘇富比2002年3月20日，編號320

158 SOTHEBY’S COMPLETE CATALOGUING AVAILABLE AT SOTHEBYS.COM/N10644 159