Cleveland Museum of Art

Low Table (kang zhuo) with Dragons in Clouds

Date

1600s–1700s

Medium

Rosewood (huanghuali) and metal

Culture

China, Ming dynasty (1368-1644) or Qing dynasty (1644-1911)

Department

Chinese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Originally, low tables were placed on a kang, a raised platform made of brick and heated by a fire underneath, which served as a bed and living space on cold winter days in northern China. During the daytime, these platforms could accommodate two sitters with a kang table placed between them. In the warmer south, kang tables were used on daybeds made of wood. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, furniture makers used rare tropical hardwood, such as huanghuali, known as rosewood. Note the curved legs, the elaborate openwork carving, and metal-fitted corners in the form of bats.

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