A huanghuali summer-winter table, Late Ming - early Qing dynasty | 明末至清初 黄花梨炕桌展腿式兩用方桌

The Dr S Y Yip Collection.

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 6th October 2015, lot 118.

攻玉山房收藏

香港蘇富比2015年10月5日，編號118

In Pursuit of Antiquities: Thirty-fifth Anniversary Exhibition of the Min Chiu Society, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1995-96, cat. no. 251, p. 279.

Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colarado, 1997-99.

Grace Wu Bruce, Chan Chair and Qin Bench: The Dr. S. Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture II, Art Museum, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1998, cat. no. 19, pp. 96-97.

《好古敏求：敏求精舍三十五週年紀念展》，香港藝術館，香港，1995-96年，編號251，頁279

丹佛藝術博物館，丹佛，1997-99年

伍嘉恩，《禪椅琴凳：攻玉山房藏明式黃花梨家具》，香港中文大學文物館，香港，1998年，編號19，頁96-97

Grace Wu Bruce, 'Ming Furniture: Some Examples of Fakes and Forgeries and Their Methods of Detection', Orientations, January 1992, p. 52.

伍嘉恩，〈Ming Furniture: Some Examples of Fakes and Forgeries and Their Methods of Detection〉，《Orientations》，1992年1月，頁52

This table serves the dual purpose of being placed on the floor when at full height and on the kang when the plain legs are removed.

There are extant examples of a small family of tables of this design, mostly rectangular banzhuo side tables. Their distinct features are the combination of a standard kang table in the top section, with legs extending below, usually round, and some examples are capped by vase-shaped feet. Also typical are the spandrels between the aprons and the legs, in various shapes and designs. This piece is more special, with the added feature of removable legs.

A similar dual usage square table but without carved decorations on the aprons is illustrated in Wang Shixiang et al., Masterpieces from the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture, Chicago and San Francisco, 1995, pp. 106-107.

桌面標準格角榫攢邊打槽平鑲對稱兩拼的面心板，下裝三根穿帶支承，其中二根出透榫。抹頭可見明榫。邊抹冰盤沿自中上部向下內縮成凹槽，再向下內縮至底壓窄平線。沿邊起線的壼門牙條，高浮雕卷草靈芝鴛鴦紋，與束腰一木連做，牙條作肩以抱肩榫與腿足結合。腿足上端沿邊起線三彎形仿如炕桌，足雕獸面張吻咬含下段八角形素面委角直腿。牙條與腿足結合處裝雲形相抵角牙。八角形段直腿向上伸延，緊貼上截三彎形腿子背後直達桌面，以活榫卯結合，可裝可卸。

壼門牙條雕紋精緻，加飾雲形相抵角牙，更添雅趣。拆下腿足末段，獸首張口撐地，成矮桌，一器二用，巧奪天工。

此方桌結構特別，只需拆卸腿足素面的下段，便精巧地成為兩用桌具，着地炕上皆適宜。這種炕桌展腿式設計的桌具傳世品有數例，多為半桌。此形制桌具的特點為上部造成標準炕桌，結合下部一般是圓材腿足，部份例子至底套瓶狀足墊。牙條與腿足結合處裝不同形狀設計的角牙亦屬此類設計的特點。現例更特殊，下段腿足能拆卸。前美國加州中國古典家具博物館舊藏一例相似但素身的兩用方桌，載錄於王世襄、袁荃猷，《明式家具萃珍》，美國中華藝文基金會，芝加哥、洛杉磯，1997年，編號37，頁76-77。