Table with phoenix motif

The surface of this table is decorated with two phoenixes opposite one another, amidst clouds. The phoenixes face the yin and yang motif at the center of the table. A combination of dyed ray skin and inlaid mother-of-pearl decorates the bodies of these mythical birds. The use of dyed ray skin and sprinkled gold and brass powder was the trend in lacquerware during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The choice of the phoenix coupled with the yin and yang motif related to nobility suggests that someone belonging to the royal household originally owned this table.

Conservation of this work is made possible by the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation.