Table with phoenix, crane, and peach motif

This large table, skillfully designed, was most likely made for an upper-class or court banquet. The surface of the table is filled with auspicious motifs: two cranes inside the circle in the center are holding peach branches in their beaks; two phoenixes and peach trees surround the circle; and four bats are positioned in the four corners; clouds fill in all other negative space. Cranes, peach trees, phoenixes, bats, and clouds are all symbols of good luck and prosperity. As opposed to the common Western representation, in East Asia bats are believed to bring good fortune for two reasons: they are awake while other animals are asleep; and the character for bat (fu) in Classical Chinese is a homophone for the character for good fortune (fu).