An Exceptionally Rare Red-Lacquer “Character One” Table with Polychrome Decoration, Ming Dynasty (16th–17th Century)

This outstanding recessed-leg table—lacquered in a luminous vermilion and intricately decorated in shades of black, green, and gold—is a rare surviving example of a form and technique that typifies the pinnacle of Ming dynasty lacquer craftsmanship. With its elegantly restrained proportions, refined joinery, and complex surface decoration, it represents a near-ideal synthesis of structural integrity and painterly ornament.

The table’s flat rectangular top is incised with a dynamic landscape of trees, birds, rocks, and floral sprays, all arranged over a densely diapered ground. The design flows with natural rhythm, animated by fine lines, subtle colour modulation, and expertly balanced asymmetry. The decoration continues across the shaped aprons, side and corner spandrels, and round-section legs, which retain their full original length and terminate in dark-lacquered feet. The double side stretchers—each lacquered with floral sprays—are delicately proportioned, and the entire construction displays the classic “character one” (yi zi) form: an elegantly horizontal silhouette derived from the single stroke of the Chinese character for “one” (一). This form, developed during the Song dynasty and refined during the Ming, reflects a philosophy of harmony, balance, and simplicity, executed here with rare distinction.

The table is also a superb demonstration of the combined qiangjin and tianqi lacquer techniques: the former involving fine incised lines filled with gold, the latter the application of coloured pigments to lacquered surfaces. These methods were typically reserved for high-status objects, and their survival in such a large-scale, functional piece of furniture is highly unusual. Polychrome lacquered tables of this quality, scale, and completeness rarely survive—particularly with their original surface so intact. The even wear, soft sheen, and clarity of the linework testify to both the exceptional materials used and the careful conservation of the piece over time.

Closely related lacquered tables can be found in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, including a group of red and polychrome recessed-leg examples dating to the Wanli period. Another comparable example, with similarly fine qiangjin and tianqi decoration, is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Acc. no. 2006.251.3). The Victoria and Albert Museum also holds a related black-lacquer recessed-leg table from the Ming period (Museum no. FE.75-1975), though few examples outside China survive with polychrome surfaces of this quality and completeness.

Lacquered tables of this type were most commonly produced in the late Ming period, particularly under the Jiajing (1522–66) and Wanli (1573–1620) emperors, and were intended for elite scholarly or domestic interiors. Though often documented in paintings and literature, extant examples are exceedingly scarce. This table ranks among the finest known for its combination of bold silhouette, elegant joinery, and intricate pictorial decoration, making it a museum-quality piece that embodies the intellectual and artistic ideals of the Ming literati.