A HUANGHUALI LOW TABLE QING DYNASTY, 17TH/18TH CENTURY

the rectangular beaded top above a narrow waist and cusped beaded apron, continuing onto cabriole legs terminating in curled hoof feet

The table is in good condition with the exception of a repair to one foot, possible replacement to one of the top panels and light scratches to the top surface.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Elegantly constructed with a curvilinear beaded apron and cabriole legs, low rectangular tables of this type are commonly referred to as kang from the homonymous hollow brick platform, heated with hot air through a stove, which provided a warm surface in Chinese households during bitter cold winters. Already during the Song dynasty these tables were used for numerous purposes, including eating, playing games as well as reading and writing as attested in contemporary paintings and wood block prints. A low kang table with a similar curvilinear apron is illustrated in the painting Literary Gathering at the Orchid Pavilion, by Liu Songnian (c. 1150-after 1225), in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, published in Grace Wu Bruce, ‘Ming Furniture. Some Examples of Fakes and Forgeries and their Methods of Detection’, Chinese Furniture. Selected Articles from Orientations 1984-1999, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 109, pl. 5.

Compare a related low table in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated in Craig Clunas, Chinese Furniture, London, 1988, pl. 52; another included in the exhibition Chinese Hardwood Furniture in Hawaiian Collections, Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu, 1982, cat. no. 5; and two sold in our New York rooms, the first, 20^th September 2000, lot 136, and the second, of slightly smaller size, 20^th March 2012, lot 145.