A RARE POLYCHROME LACQUER RECTANGULAR TABLE17th/18th century The large rectangular top painted with a central cartouche featuring a garden landscape scene with Court figures engaging in leisurely pursuits besides an elegant pavilion and various plants and flowers, flanked by two further cartouches depicting respectively a cockerel amidst a flowering branch of peonies and a long-tailed bird amidst bamboo and prunus, all reserved on a leiwen ground, the recessed waist with reticulated narrow panels and lotus scrolls, the shaped apron with a continuous frieze of further lotus and sinuous chilong , the same designs continuing onto the legs terminating with hoof feet. 82cm (32 1/4in) high x 125cm (49 1/4in) wide x 45cm (17 3/4in) deep. 十七/十八世紀 填漆花鳥螭龍紋長方桌 The present lot is unusual inbining differently-shaped cartouches depicting figures in landscape and flower and bird designs, as well as archaistic designs of chilong instead of the more typical dragon with foliate scrolls. The archaistic design reflects the academic trend known as the 'search for evidence' ( kaozheng 考證) movement which began in the early 17th century. Although this movement originated in a renewed scholarly interest in ancient texts and inscriptions on archaic bronzes, as literati sought a more empirical approach to understanding their ancient heritage, it led to a greater fascination for decorative designs adopted from ancient bronzes too, such as chilong , which then found their way to lacquer furniture. The shape of the present table appears to have been inspired by an earlier prototype dating the to Mind dynasty, which usually held ritual implements such as incense burner, flower vases and candlesticks in domestic shrines. See a line drawing of a woodblock print dating to the Ming dynasty, illustrating a scene from ' Linchuan's Four Dreams ', depicting a similarly-shaped table positioned against the side wall in a domestic shrine; see S.Handler, The Austere Luminosity of Chinese Classical Furniture , Hong Kong, 2001, p.231, pl.14.7. The subjects depicted on the table top invoke auspicious symbolism conveyed through the use of birds and flower designs. The flowering plum, the first flower to bloom in the snow, symbolises transient feminine beauty and youth; it is also associated with coldness, solitude and loss. The famous Song dynasty scholar Su Dongpo (1037-1101) wrote in one poem that: 'The flowering plums' bones are of jade and snow, and their souls of ice', as the plum blossom was endowed with the Confucian virtues of resilience and perseverance for blossoming in deep winter. Peonies mudan were also known in China as fugui hua ('Flower of Rank and Nobility'), presumably following the popularity enjoyed by flowers among members of the Imperial families during the Tang dynasty. By their character and pronunciation, they convey blessings for happiness, (fu), and noble/rich/high rank, (gui). In conjunction with rocks (symb