Hand Carved Wood Display Stand

A carved wood stand with a raised platform and a low shelf beside it.

Chinese scholars' objects were rarely set straight on the table. A stone, a teapot or a small figure was given a base, so the eye met it a little above the surface and the thing was seen as chosen rather than left. This one is carved as a knot of roots and lacquered a deep red, with one high step and one low, so a statue sits up while a bracelet or a tea cup rests at its foot.

It suits a tea tray, an altar shelf, or a Buddha who has been sitting flat on a bookcase and deserves better.