with six legs joined at the centre with six spokes forming the basin stand, the two hind legs extended upwards to support the toprail with two upturned ends, framing the central openwork panel decorated with scrollwork, between two spinnable interlocking motifs.

Note: Despite having an integral and highly utilitarian function, basin stands belong to one of the rarest types of surviving examples of huanghuali furniture. Basin stands were divided into two main categories, the first being taller with a toprail forming the towel rack as seen on the current example, and the other being shorter with only one compartment for the basin. Both types of basin stands are portrayed in the wall painting at the rear chamber of Baisha tomb no. 1 from the second year of the Yuanfu reign in the Song dynasty (corresponding to 1099), suggesting that the designs of 17th century basin stands derived from earlier prototypes.