Lot 100. A mother-of-pearl inlaid lacquer low table, Ming dynasty, 16th century; 63 by 38cm., 24 3/4 by 14 7/8 in. Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 GBP. Lot Sold 25,000 GBP. © Sotheby's

of rectangular form supported on a rectangular waist with oblong pierced panels raised on a everted barbed apron incurving at the corners to form the legs, the top finely inlaid with a scene of a group of three scholars on horseback and their attendants on foot arriving at a birthday celebration at a pavilion nestled near a stream with pine, willow and bamboo, the apron inlaid with panels of ducks on a diaper ground.

Note: This table is notable for the intricately inlaid figural scene and diaper grounds that serve to enhance the elegance of the form; see a table of closely related form and similar decoration sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 9th October 2007, lot 1642; and another, from the Dr. Ip Yee collection, also sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 19th November 1984, lot 122. Compare also a table of this form, decorated with a bird on a branch, illustrated in Margaret Medley, 'Lacquered Furniture', Percival David Foundation Colloquy on Art and Archaeology in Asia, no. 11, London, 1981, pl. 5a. 

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, London, 12 May 2010