Important CONSOLE Chinese 19th Century in Hongmu Wood

Chinese 19th Century
in Hongmu wood, with carvings of birds and fruits. Pink marble top.
Dim.: 74 x 140 x 60 cm

Compare a zitan demi-lune form table, without the marble top, and carved with rococo style foliage in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Ming Qing Guting Jiaju Daquan, Vol.II, Beijing, 2006, fig.178. The taste for floral and rococo style carving in furniture appears to have been particularly popular within the Qing Court. European-style floral scroll work can also be seen on the apron of a red sandalwood chair in the Qing Court collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (II), Hong Kong, 2002, pl.55.

A single related table, originally catalogued as zitan but later revised to hardwood, was sold at Christie’s London, 12 May 2009, lot 95.