A LARGE NANMU BURL INCENSE STAND QING DYNASTY, 17TH / 18TH CENTURY

formed from a single burl wood root with contorted and gnarled roots naturally extending in various directions, the burled uneven surface with a warm brown colour

Tao-The Jiansongge Collection.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 11th April 2008, lot 2715 (illustrated on the cover).

In literature from the sixth century AD, naturally crooked wooden armrests and stands were a symbol of the humble life.  By the Tang dynasty, this type of furniture was the latest fashion.  Chairs made from branches began appearing in Buddhist settings, the humble materials implying a frugal life of hard work.  In the late Ming and Qing dynasties, rootwood furniture was used by the literati in their studios and gardens, embodying a life of refined leisure. 

Compare a similar root wood stand in Richard Rosenblum, Art of the Natural World, Boston, 2001, fig. 14.  See also a hardwood stool carved in the form of a rootwood stool, sold in our New York rooms, 21st September 2006, lot 177.