Long pingtouan table, Huanghuali wood and huamu Late Ming to early Qing (1600 – 1700)

Of mitre, mortise, and tenoned frame construction, with a huamu single-board, tongue-and-grooved, flush, floating panel supported by six dovetailed transverse stretchers underneath. The edge of the frame moulds inward from about halfway down and ends in a beaded edge. The splayed rectangular legs with a gently grooved wide band in the centre and edged with butterflied corners, are cut to house the beautifully worked stylised phoenix spandreled apron. They are double tenoned into the frame top. The edge of the apron is finished with a raised, grooved band. Between the legs at each end is an openwork panel carved with a pair of stylised phoenix, echoing that of the spandrels. The lacquer and ramie undercoating is almost completely intact. 

Hong Kong, 1991, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, "The Dr. S. Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture"
Singapore, 1997 – 1999, Asian Civilisations Museum, "The Chinese Collection"
Hong Kong, 2012, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, "Grace Wu Bruce presents a choice selection of Ming Furniture from the Dr S Y Yip collections"

Grace Wu Bruce, Dreams of Chu Tan Chamber and the Romance with Huanghuali Wood: The Dr. S. Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture, Hong Kong, 1991, pp. 68 – 71
National Heritage Board, Asian Civilisations Museum: The Chinese Collection, Singapore, 1997, plate 114
Grace Wu Bruce, Grace Wu Bruce presents a choice selection of Ming Furniture from the Dr S Y Yip collections, Hong Kong, 2012, pp. 16 – 17

Similar example：
Grace Wu Bruce, Sublime and Divine Chinese Ming Furniture, Hong Kong, 2014, pp. 64 – 71 for an example with railings of a similar design but with straight aprons and legs ending in hoof feet

This is an exquisite variation of the standard design illustrated by catalogue no. 19. Where there are normally plain mitred spandrels, beautifully rendered stylised phoenixes in openwork carving take their place. In addition, the stretchers between the legs, normally plain, round or oval in section, are also replaced by ones with stylised phoenixes, exquisitely carved in openwork. This feature is unique amongst published examples to-date.