A Huanghuali Lute Table

Late Ming Dynasty
Lute Table
Cocobolo (Huanghuali)

• The table's construction features a standard mitre, mortise, and tenon framework with a two-board floating panel that fits flush within the frame, tongue-and-grooved to secure it in place, and is reinforced by three dovetailed transverse braces underneath, with visible tenons on the table's shorter sides.
• Aesthetically, the frame's edge gracefully moulds downward, finishing with a beaded edge, while the beaded-edged apron below is adorned with ruyi-shaped spandrels, butt-joined to the table's underside and connected to the legs with a tongue-and-groove joint for a seamless appearance.
• Structurally, the legs of the table are rounded on the outside and squared on the inside, double-tenoned to the top for stability, and further supported by four S-shaped braces with square sections that are mortised and tenoned into the legs, half-lapped, and wood-pinned onto the transverse brace at each end of the table.

Reference and image source: Sotheby's Hong Kong Limited