Lot 52. A lacquered wooden 'liubo' chess game table, Western Han Dynasty (206BC - 24AD); 16.5cm (6 1/2in) high x 31.5cm (12 1/2in) wide x 23cm (9in) deep. Sold for HK$ 165,000 (€ 18,767) (Estimate  HK$ 50,000-80,000). © Bonhams 2001-2021

The table of rectangular form raising from four detachable tapering feet, and with a rectangular hollowed container in the centre, its top painted in cinnabar with two seated figures on each side amidst clouds, on a layer of thin black lacquer, the feet painted with triangles on the upper section, box.

Note: The present table was probably used as an accessory for liubo, a game believed to have emerged in the Spring and Autumn period and to be widely popular in the Han Dynasty. The game combines some rules of strategy games such as weiqi with some features of gambling games such as crapshoot, that gained greater popularity in the Han Dynasty from emperors to the lower classes. Compare with a liubo table with a related design, Western Han, which was unearthed in Yangzhou, Jiangsu, and is illustrated in the Zhongguo qiqi quanji (Lacquer Treasures from China), Fuzhou, 1995, vol.3, no.257.

Bonhams. Elegant Gatherings. The Social Art of Chinese Scholars, Hong Kong, 2 Dec 2021