This unusual form can be seen in another undecorated black lacquer high footed tray illustrated by Lee Yu-kuan, Oriental Lacquer Art, Tokyo and New York, 1972, p. 82, no. 23; where the author mentions that the character yu inscribed on the base of the cited tray indicates its use as a sacrificial vessel. The two characters inscribed on the present tray Cunzhi, probably designate a collector's name.