A 'huanghuali' waisted side table (Tiaozhuo), 17th / 18th century

Sotheby's New York, 22nd March 2001, lot 147.

The present table represents a rare example of a waisted design that features ‘giant’s arm’ braces in place of more typical humpback stretchers. Strengthening the construction to support its long elegant legs, this solution leaves the overall form of the table unrestricted and lends the design a palpable lightness. 

Comparable examples of this elegant design variation are rare, particularly those featuring large single-board tabletops. Compare a similar example of this design included in Sarah Handler, Austere Luminosity of Chinese Classical Furniture, London, 2001, p. 190, fig. 12.10; another sold at Christie’s New York, 16th March 2017, lot 605; another slightly smaller example sold at Bonhams New York, 19th June 2012, lot 6212; and another smaller example with a more raised tabletop sold at Bonhams London, 16th May 2019, lot 79.