RARE TABLE EN HUANGHUALI, QIAOTOUANXVIIe/XVIIIe siècle A FINE AND RARE HUANGHUALI RECESSED-LEG TABLE, QIAOTOUAN 17th/18th century The table defined by a rectangular top terminating in everted flanges on the shorter ends, supported on a frame formed by the long beaded-edge apron decorated with ruyi spandrels, the rectangular legs housing the long aprons decorated with interlocking geometric designs, the legs and feet framing an inset reticulated panel carved with a cusped cartouche decorated with designs of sinuous chilong writhing amidst vaporous clouds. 178cm (70in) long x 83cm (32 5/8in) high x 40.5cm (15 7/8in) deep. Provenance: Jean-Pierre Rousset, Paris (1936-2021), acquired in the 1980's In Chinese households of the late Ming and Qing dynasties, tables of such impressive proportions with upturned ends demonstrated the high status and wealth of their owners. Tables of this type are discussed in Wen Zhenheng's (1585-1645) influential Treatise on Superfluous Things ( Zhang wu zhi ), the late 17th century guide to refined taste. In his treatise Wen rmended that such tables were placed underneath a painting and even suggested that 'one may place such things as fantastic rocks, seasonal flowers, or miniature tray-landscapes; but avoid garish objects such as red lacquerware'. Although Wen warned against the use of excessive carving, the lively openwork panels on this table are balanced by the simplicity of the apron and spandrels. See a closely related huanghuali side-table, late 16th/early 17th century (188cm long), illustrated by G.Wu Bruce, The Dr. S.Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture , Hong Kong, 1991, pp.74-75, no.25.pare also a huanghuali altar table of larger proportions and with more exuberantly carved spandrels, from the Florence and Herbert Irving collection, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and see also a much larger example in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, illustrated by S.Handler, Austere Luminosity of Chinese Classical Furniture , Berkeley, 2001, pp.237-238, pls.14.16 and 14.17. See a related but smaller huanghuali recessed-leg altar table, 18th century, which was sold at at Sotheby's London, 8 November 2017, lot 98. See also a related larger huanghuali altar table, circa 17th century, formerly withpagnie de la Chine et des Indes, Paris, which was sold at Christie's Paris, 12 December 2019, lot 32. Dans les maisons chinoises de la fin des Ming et de la dynastie Qing, les tables aux dimensions aussi impressionnantes et aux extrémités relevées en queues d'oiseaux montraient le statut et la richesse de leurs propriétaires. Les tables de ce genre sont mentionnées dans l'important livre de Wen Zhenheng (1585-1645), Traité des choses superflues (Zhang wu zhi), le guide de la vie élégante de la fin du XVIIe siècle. Dans son traité, Wen rmande de placer ces tables sous une peinture et suggère même d'y "poser des pierr