A superb Imperial zitan waisted corner-leg table


Qianlong/JiaqingThe wide rectangular frame carved around sides with a hui-character border, above a narrow waist carved in relief with conjoined panels of bats, the shaped aprons elaborately carved with archaistic cloud scrolls within a border of alternating abstract chi dragons, the whole supported on four elegant legs of square section carved with similar archaistic cloud scrolls and terminating in hoof feet, and framed by spandrels of openwork featuring archaistic chi dragon. 171.4cm (67 1/2in) long x 85.2cm (33 1/2in) high x 43.8cm (17 1/4in) deep
|清乾隆/嘉慶 紫檀雕仿古紋束腰平頭案Provenance:Frank Caro, New York, 1967Arthur M. Sackler (1913–1987) CollectionsSackler Collections at Columbia University, New YorkArthur M. Sackler Foundation, 2001An important New York private collectionChristie's New York, 20-21 March 2014, lot 2306A distinguished Asian private collectionExhibited:The Newark Museum, The Bride Wore Red: Chinese Wedding Traditions, 2005來源：紐約古董商弗蘭克·卡羅，1967年阿瑟·M·賽克勒舊藏紐約哥倫比亞大學賽克勒舊藏阿瑟·M·賽克勒基金會舊藏，2001年紐約重要私人舊藏佳士得紐約，2014年3月20-21日，拍品編號2306亞洲顯赫私人收藏展覽：紐華克博物館，《The Bride Wore Red: Chinese Wedding Traditions》，2005年Frank Caro worked for many years alongside the legendary dealer C.T. Loo who had Chinese art galleries both in Paris and New York. However, following the political changes in China in 1949, in 1950 Loo left the New York business to his long-time colleague and successor Frank Caro.弗蘭克·凱洛曾與位於巴黎及紐約的國際知名古董商盧芹齋共事多年，1949年新中國成立後，盧芹齋於1950年將其紐約的公司移交給了弗蘭克來接替運營。Arthur M.Sackler (1913–1987) was an American psychiatrist, art collector, and philanthropist whose fortune originated in medical advertising and trade publications. He began collecting art in the 1940s. His collection was composed of tens of thousands of works including Chinese, Indian, and Middle Eastern as well as Renaissance and pre-Columbian art. He founded galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Princeton University, the Arthur M. Sackler Museum at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum of Art and Archaeology. In 1987, the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, D.C. was opened months after his death. Sackler had a particular interest though in archaic Chinese bronzes and his collection of Chinese art that was donated to the Smithsonian was considered one of the largest collections of ancient Chinese art in the world. Following his death, The Arthur M. Sackler Museum of Art and Archaeology, was opened at Peking University in 1993.阿瑟·M·賽克勒（1913-1987年）先生，美國精神學家、收藏家、以及慈善家，早年以醫療推廣及醫學期刊生意致富。賽克勒由1940年代開始蒐藏古物，其收藏涵蓋多個地域範疇，包括中國、印度、中東、文藝復興時期以及美洲大陸藝術。另外，賽克勒先生對藝術文教事業亦頗為熱心，先後於紐約大都會博物館及普林斯頓大學藝術博物館籌建藝廊，並捐建麻省劍橋哈佛大學賽克勒博物館。賽克勒對中國高古青銅器情有獨鍾，歷年以來蒐購的藏品於1982年捐贈予史密森學會，成為現今世上其中一個最大及最重要的中國古代藝術收藏。1987年賽克勒因病逝世，數月後位於華盛頓特區的阿瑟·M·賽克勒美術館開幕，由史密森學會管理營運，而北京大學賽克勒藝術及考古博物館則於1993年竣工開幕。The present archaistic zitan table embodies the luxurious Imperial taste and aesthetic sensibilities during the Qianlong reign. The archaistic designs around the apron forming taotie masks, are directly inspired by those found on bronze ritual vessels of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, recalling the Qianlong emperor's fascination with antiquity and archaism. Proposing to 'restore ancient ways', referring to the view of ancient culture as having intrinsic qualities of sincerity, simplicity and happy exuberance, the emperor instructed the Court to collect drawings of antiquities, such as the Xi Qing Gu Jian (Catalogue of Xiqing Antiquities), which provided the Imperial craftsmen with a primary source of inspiration. See Chang Li-tuan, The Refined Taste of the Emperor: Special Exhibition of Archaic and Pictorial Jades of the Ch'ing Court, Taipei, 1997, pp.49-50.Zitan wood is particularly hard, making it suitable for carving ornate designs. Qing dynasty imperial taste departed from the Ming dynasty's more austere style imbued with simplicity of design and plain surfaces. Instead, during the Qing period, a more complex and extravagant style of beauty was pursued. However, the growth of zitan wood is slow, and even during the Qianlong reign, the stocks of zitan in the Imperial Household Department were low requiring strict monitoring of its use. The archives of the Imperial Household Department demonstrate how the use of this wood was strictly governed. Tables such as the present lot, would have been part of a pair placed in a large palace hall and were mostly used to display objects. From a photo taken in 1900 of the Hall of Mental Cultivation within the Forbidden City, one can see a related table, illustrated by Shan Jixiang, The Photographic Collection of the Palace Museum: Imperial Buildings through Western Camera, Beijing, 2014, p.160. Compare also with four additional zitan tables with related archaistic designs, Qing dynasty, illustrated in A Treasury of Ming and Qing Dynasty Palace Furniture from the Palace Museum Collection, vol.1, Beijing, 2007, pls.203,221,223 and 225.紫檀為材，格角攢框裝板為之案面，冰盤沿雕回字紋一周，束腰浮雕如意蝙蝠紋，等距相間，托腮淺浮雕蓮瓣紋，一如須彌座，牙板和桌腿亦抱肩隼拍合，牙板下線起拐子回文與腿交圈，板面鏟地雕仿古雲榖紋，牙板和桌腿之間安鏤空螭龍角牙，腿起如意翅，其上鏟地雕仿古雲榖紋，與牙板紋飾連成一體，方腿光素，外翻雲紋足。此案用料精當，所耗非常，儼然皇家氣度。紫檀硬料，適合雕琢，清代以來一反明式家具髹漆素面的淡雅風格，追求一種繁複奢華的美感。然而紫檀生長緩慢，至乾隆朝，內務府存量便已捉襟見肘，以致於《養心殿造辦處各作成活計清檔》記錄紫檀僅限於內務府造辦處使用，且管理嚴格。 此類條多用於陳設器物，廳堂兩側各有一對。紫禁城養心殿隨安室1900年一張室內照片可見光緒帝御榻一側便有一張和本件拍品頗似的紫檀條案，見單霽翔編，《故宮藏影·西洋鏡裏的皇家建築》，北京，2014年，頁160。另有四件清代紫檀桌可供參考，其牙條所雕仿古紋可比較之，見《故宮博物院藏明清宮廷家具大觀》，卷1，北京，2007年，圖版203、221、223及225。