17TH CENTURY

This form is known as a qiaotou'an, or 'everted end recessed-leg table,' although the late Ming style-maker Wen Zhenheng termed it bizhuo, or 'wall table,' as it was commonly used against a wall to display works of art or to hold offerings. Tables of the present type tend to feature long, single-plank tops and thick members. Such tables also feature aprons with integral spandrels which are joined by dovetail-housing to the trestle legs, providing added structural support. The angular scrollwork on the spandrels is very rare and deviates from the more typically seen ruyi-form spandrels. A huanghuali trestle-leg table with the more commonly seen ruyi-form spandrels was sold at Christie’s New York, 17-18 March 2016, lot 1314.