漆嵌螺鈿人物圖四足香几

Tables and stands of this form have a long history in China, as has been noted by Laurence Sickman and discussed in 'Chinese Classic Furniture', Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol. 42, 1977-1978, pl. 9b with an illustration of a somewhat similarly shaped table or stand that was part of a group of miniature items of furniture excavated from a tomb at Huayansi, Datong, Shaanxi province, dated AD 1189).

Compare a related stand illustrated in Mother-of-Pearl Inlay in Chinese Lacquer Art, Tokyo National Museum, 1981, no 46. A slightly smaller example was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, May 27, 2008, lot 1942.