A Set Antique Chinese Hongmu Nest Of Tables

Description

The set is turn of the 20th century, possibly late 19th century. The set is hand made which makes for slight variations in the thickness of the wood, e.g. the legs, and the carvings show slight variations due to the hand making. Around 1910 machines took over much of the manufacture and hence the age stated. The design is typical of a late 19th century design. Made totally of Hong Mu, believed to be Hauli or given it is an antique of 120 years of age it is Huang Huali. The tables demonstrate the “brilliance” of Huali as it ages. The wood gets darker with age getting almost black but retaining the red of the fresh timber.

The 4 separate tables sit beautifully as a set with their long straight legs and carved friezes running under the top around all 4 sides. Late 19th century tables were produced like this rather than earlier 19th century ones which often had fretted friezes, ie carvings that were cut out using a fret saw. This was not just a change in style but also stopped the damage of fretted tables as inevitably the wood of a fretted freize almost always splits looks unsightly and weakens the table. The legs terminate in typical feet with one side cut away, again typical of this period. The legs have carved beading to their surfaces on the edges which is a tribute to the skills of the craftsman given this is a very difficult carving to produce on such hard wood. At the base of the legs and just above the feet are conforming stretchers. These are each hand produced with a “breakfront” design which acts to strengthen the tables and enables thinner sections of wood to be used. Typical of this period. Inserting the stretchers low on the legs adds difficulty in the making but provides great stability in use.


The sizes of each table are: ​​

Width​ x Depth​ x Height cm

​Largest​ 48​ x 36 x 68cm

​No 2​ 42​ x 34 x 59cm

​No 3 ​ 36​ x 32 x 50cm

​Smallest​ 30​ x 30 x 41cm

Posted: 1 hour ago

Ad ID: 1508528607