AN EXTREMELY RARE CARVED CINNABAR LACQUER ‘PHOENIX’ LOW TABLE MING DYNASTY, XUANDE PERIOD

the flat rectangular top with raised ends, supported on a constricted waist above four cabriole legs skirted with a cusped apron, the top exuberantly carved in various levels of relief with a lobed cartouche enclosing a pair of phoenix in flight amidst stylised lotus blooms borne on leafy sprays above rocky mountains, framed at each of the four corners with a further phoenix amidst leafy blooms of the four seasons, the raised ends and sides further decorated with floral blooms amid broad leaves, encircled by a trellis band along the constricted waist, the four legs and apron similarly decorated with further phoenix in flight amid floral blooms below a lappet band, the reverse lacquered in black
18.8 by 61.7 by 37 cm, 7 3/8 by 24 1/4 by 14 5/8 in.

Provenance:
Collection of Kenzo Hasegawa (1886-1957), founder of the Kaisendo Museum, c. 1950.
Collection of Kaisendo Museum, Yamagata.