This classic design has its origin in ancient Chinese architecture in wood. Completely plain, this simple form with pure lines is what first captures the attention of twentieth century furniture historians. The design is now considered quintessential Ming.

Longer pieces of pingtouan tables in huanghuali wood have survived in some numbers but examples of this small scale are rare. The single board, actively grained floating panel shows huanghauli wood at its most beautiful, like a painting.

Compare this to the similar but longer piece in the collection of the Central Academy of Arts & Crafts, Beijing. (Chen, 42). A longer table of similar design is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. (Clunas, 46)

Provenance
Professor Michael Martin, Hong Kong.

The top of standard mitre, mortise and tenon construction with a single board, beautifully figured, tongue-and-grooved, floating panel supported by two dovetailed transverse stretchers underneath. The edge of the frame is flat and moulds gently downward and inward from about half way down. There are exposed tenons on the short rails of the frame top. The splayed round legs are cut to house the plain shaped spandrelled apron and are double tenoned into the top. Between the legs at each end are two oval stretchers.

Chen, Zengbi, Zhongyang Gongyi Meishu Xueyuan Yuancang: Zhenpin Tulu, dier ji, Mingshi Jiaju, Central Academy of Arts & Crafts: Illustrations of collections, volume 2, Ming Furniture Beijing, 1994.
Clunas, Craig, Chinese Furniture Victoria and Albert Museum Far Eastern Series, London, 1988.

This classic design has its origin in ancient Chinese architecture in wood. Completely plain, this simple form with pure lines is what first captures the attention of twentieth century furniture historians. The design is now considered quintessential Ming.

Longer pieces of pingtouan tables in huanghuali wood have survived in some numbers but examples of this small scale are rare. The single board, actively grained floating panel shows huanghauli wood at its most beautiful, like a painting.

Compare this to the similar but longer piece in the collection of the Central Academy of Arts & Crafts, Beijing. (Chen, 42). A longer table of similar design is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. (Clunas, 46)

Provenance
Professor Michael Martin, Hong Kong.

The top of standard mitre, mortise and tenon construction with a single board, beautifully figured, tongue-and-grooved, floating panel supported by two dovetailed transverse stretchers underneath. The edge of the frame is flat and moulds gently downward and inward from about half way down. There are exposed tenons on the short rails of the frame top. The splayed round legs are cut to house the plain shaped spandrelled apron and are double tenoned into the top. Between the legs at each end are two oval stretchers.

Chen, Zengbi, Zhongyang Gongyi Meishu Xueyuan Yuancang: Zhenpin Tulu, dier ji, Mingshi Jiaju, Central Academy of Arts & Crafts: Illustrations of collections, volume 2, Ming Furniture Beijing, 1994.
Clunas, Craig, Chinese Furniture Victoria and Albert Museum Far Eastern Series, London, 1988.

Square tables are called eight-, six- or four-immortals table depending on their size. They were often, though not exclusively, used for dinning and it would seem the name derived from how many people the table can seat. The S-brace design is typical of classical Chinese furniture although surviving examples are quite rare.

Compare this to the piece of similar design but with a burl wood top (Wu Bruce, plate 15), now in the collection of the National Museum of China, Beijing. The Palace Museum, Beijing also has a very similar example (Zhu, 87).

The top of standard mitre, mortise and tenon construction with a flush, two-board, matched floating panel, tongue-and-grooved into the mitred frame and supported by three dovetailed transverse stretchers and an additional cross stretcher below. The frame moulds downwards and inward from about one third down into a wide groove, then moulds down again to end in a narrow flat band. The recessed waist and the beaded-edged apron, made of one piece of wood, is half-lapped, mortised and tenoned into the legs which are double-lock tenoned to the top and terminate in low hoof feet. There are four S-shaped braces mitred, mortised and tenoned into the legs and the end underneath stretchers for further support.

Zhu, Jiajin, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1)., Hong Kong, 2002.
Wu Bruce, Grace, Chinese Classical Furniture, Hong Kong, 1995.

Square tables are called eight-, six- or four-immortals table depending on their size. They were often, though not exclusively, used for dinning and it would seem the name derived from how many people the table can seat. The S-brace design is typical of classical Chinese furniture although surviving examples are quite rare.

Compare this to the piece of similar design but with a burl wood top (Wu Bruce, plate 15), now in the collection of the National Museum of China, Beijing. The Palace Museum, Beijing also has a very similar example (Zhu, 87).

The top of standard mitre, mortise and tenon construction with a flush, two-board, matched floating panel, tongue-and-grooved into the mitred frame and supported by three dovetailed transverse stretchers and an additional cross stretcher below. The frame moulds downwards and inward from about one third down into a wide groove, then moulds down again to end in a narrow flat band. The recessed waist and the beaded-edged apron, made of one piece of wood, is half-lapped, mortised and tenoned into the legs which are double-lock tenoned to the top and terminate in low hoof feet. There are four S-shaped braces mitred, mortised and tenoned into the legs and the end underneath stretchers for further support.

Zhu, Jiajin, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1)., Hong Kong, 2002.
Wu Bruce, Grace, Chinese Classical Furniture, Hong Kong, 1995.

Furniture pieces made in zitan wood dated to the Ming are very rare. Surviving examples are mostly the carved and decorated pieces of the eighteenth century or the plain ones of the late nineteenth and twentieth century. (Wu Bruce, 139)

The classic pingtouan table design with plain spandrels has its origin in ancient Chinese architecture in wood. This cloud-shaped spandrel example is a Ming development.

Compare this to the larger zitan table of similar design in the Palace Museum, Beijing (Zhu, 132).

The top of standard mitre, mortise and tenon construction with a two-board tongue-and-grooved, floating panel supported by three dovetailed transverse stretchers underneath. There are exposed tenons on the short sides of the frame top. The edge of the frame moulds gently downward and inward to end in a narrow flat band. The splayed round legs, cut to house the cloud-shaped spandrelled apron, are double tenoned into the top. Between the legs are two oval stretchers, flattened on the top and underside.

Zhu, Jiajin, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1)., Hong Kong, 2002.
Wu Bruce, Grace, Classic Chinese Furniture in Tzu-Tan Wood, Arts of Asia, November-December 1991.

This Ming design, is a variation of the classic banzhuo with straight aprons seen already in wall murals of the Jin and Yuan dynasties (1115 - 1368). Those with curvilinear aprons are rarer in surviving examples of banzhuo tables.

Compare this to a very similar piece in square shape in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Ellsworth, plate 75).

Of standard mitre, mortise and tenon frame and flush, tongue-and-groove, single board floating panel construction supported by three dovetailed transverse stretchers underneath, two with exposed tenons. The tenons are also exposed on the short rails of the frame top. The edge of the frame is decorated with a groove and then moulds downward and inward again to end in a narrow flat band. The recessed waist and the beaded-edged curvilinear apron, made of one piece of wood, is mitred, mortised and tenoned into and half-lapped onto the legs which double-lock tenoned to the mitred frame and terminate in well drawn hoof feet. Below the aprons are beaded-edged hump-back shaped stretchers, mitred, mortised and tenoned into the legs.

Ellsworth, Robert Hatfield, Chinese Furniture: Hardwood Examples of the Ming and Early Ching Dynasties, New York: Random House, 1971.

Kang table is a classic type of Ming tables, suitable for use at mat level or on the kang, a hollow brick platform where hot air is driven through to create a warm living space.

Compare this to a piece with carved dragons and lion masks in the collection of the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts, Beijing (Chen, 30) and one with feet pads in the Fabian collection, San Francisco. (Evarts, 7)

The lip-edged top of standard mitre, mortise and tenon construction with a three board flush, tongue-and-grooved floating panel supported by two dovetailed transverse stretchers underneath, both with exposed tenons. There are also exposed tenons on the short sides of the frame top. The edge of the frame moulds inward and downward from about a third way down and again to end in a narrow flat band. The recessed waist and the curvilinear, beaded-edged apron, made of one piece of wood and carved with facing dragons and tendrils, are mitred, mortised and tenoned and half lapped to the cabriole legs, also with beaded-edge to end in well shaped feet.

Chen, Zengbi, Zhongyang Gongyi Meishu Xueyuan Yuancang: Zhenpin Tulu, dier ji, Mingshi Jiaju, Central Academy of Arts and Crafts: Illustrations of collections, volume 2, Ming Furniture Beijing, 1994.
Evarts, Curtis, The San Francisco Symposium on Classical Chinese Wood Furniture, Journal of the Classical Chinese Furniture Society, Winter 1992, Renaissance, California.

Everted end table with recessed legs and single plank top are classic to Ming furniture design. Solid plank top tables were more valuable at the time due to the expensive timber huanghuali having to be imported into China.

Compare this to a similar example in the collection of the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts, Beijing (Chen, 50) and another smaller example illustrated in Chinese Domestic Furniture (Ecke, plate 44)

The top of a single well-figured plank with small inset, shaped everted flanges which continue down to become the bread-board ends of the plank top. The edge of the top moulds gently downward and ends in a banded moulding. The splayed rectangular legs are cut to house the beaded-edged, shaped, mitred spandrelled apron, and are double tenoned into the underside of the plank top. Between the legs at each end are two rectangular stretchers.

Chen, Zengbi, Zhongyang Gongyi Meishu Xueyuan Yuancang: Zhenpin Tulu, dier ji, Mingshi Jiaju, Central Academy of Arts and Crafts: Illustrations of collections, volume 2, Ming Furniture, Beijing, 1994.
Ecke, Gustav, Chinese Domestic Furniture, Peking: Henri Vetch, 1944. Reprinted by Charles E. Tuttle: Rutland, Vermont and Tokyo, 1962.

This table without a waist, is a variation of the classic Ming Design, seen already in wall murals of the Jin and Yuan dynasties (1115 - 1368) and is hailed by furniture historians to be an all time classic.

Compare this to the classic examples in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (Clunas, 48), and the collection of the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts, Bejing. (Chen, 35)

The top of standard mitre, mortise and tenon frame construction with a single board, well-figured, flush, tongue-and-grooved floating-panel supported by two dovetailed transverse stretchers underneath. There are exposed tenons on the short sides of the frame top. The edge of the frame is flat as is the plain straight apron which is very slightly recessed from the top and is mitred, mortised and tenoned into and half-lapped onto the legs which double-lock tenoned to the mitred frame and terminate in well drawn hoof feet. Below the aprons are hump-back shaped stretchers mortised and tenoned but not mitred into the legs, also with flat surfaces.

Chen, Zengbi, Zhongyang Gongyi Meishu Xueyuan Yuancang: Zhenpin Tulu, dier ji, Mingshi Jiaju, Central Academy of Arts and Crafts: Illustrations of collections, volume 2, Ming Furniture Beijing, 1994.
Clunas, Craig, Chinese Furniture Victoria and Albert Museum Far Eastern Series, London, 1988.

This interesting design is a late Ming early Qing innovation from the classic pingtouan table.

Jichimu wood was highly prized in the Ming period for making furniture, together with huanghuali, zitan, tieli and wumu wood. The feathery grain pattern from where its name was derived is evident in various members on this table.

Compare this to the piece of similar design in huanghuali wood but with everted ends in the collection of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Wang, vol 1, 106).

The top of mitre, motise and tenon frame construction with a single board tongue-and-groove, flush floating panel supported by five dovetailed transverse stretchers underneath. The edge of the frame top is gently moulded and is completely plain, without beading. The rectangular legs, rounded on all four corners, are tenoned to the underside of the top. The aprons, made of round stretchers, are mitred, mortised and tenoned together and into the legs forming the silhouette of a classic pingtouan table with ear-shaped spandrels. Between the apron-stretchers and the table top are pillar-shaped struts, two pairs on the long side and two single ones on the short sides. The apron-stretchers and struts on the ends are made of huanghuali wood. Between the legs at each end is a round hump-back shaped stretcher. The lacquer coating on the underside is almost completely intact.

Wang, Shixiang, Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture: Ming and Early Qing Dynasties, 2 volumes, Hong Kong, 1990.