Imposing table in carved hongmu wood

Imposing lobed table in carved hongmu wood, the crosspiece under the top partially openworked, then underneath carved with taotie masks and archaic motifs. The curved, scrolled central legs are joined at the bottom by a brace, with each leg ending in a rising scroll.
The top is made of a slab of pink marble.
The overall style, both the curvature of the legs and their general shape, as well as the lobe of the tabletop, is a reference to the French Rocaille and Italian Rococo styles, an influence that arrived in China following the employment at court of Italian, French and, more generally, European missionaries, whose artistic and architectural knowledge influenced the development of the Chinese style between the 17th and 19th centuries, culminating in the reign of Emperor Qianlong.
The most infamous result, now destroyed, was the construction of the ‘Yuanming Yuan’ summer palace, orchestrated mainly by the famous Jesuit friar Giuseppe Castiglione.
As a result of this influence, many objects and furnishings were created for the court, incorporating the exotic Baroque influence so popular in the East.

The present table, published in the April 1965 issue of Connaissance des Arts magazine (No. 158), was used in the château’s first-floor vestibule to house a magnificent vase and a pair of herons in cloisonné enamel, acquired by Rothschild. Our table, as mentioned in the magazine, comes from a set of Chinese furniture brought back to France following the sack of the Imperial Palace in Peking.

Total height: 70 cm
Width: 195 cm
Depth: 95 cm

Provenance: Château du Duc de Gramont, built in 1891.

Published: Connaissance des arts April 1965