This little table with a figured top, decorated with chinoiserie elements, was probably created in imitation of those being made in the Orient for export to Europe. The black-lacquer papier-mache tray with a low rim painted with "flowers and birds" motif in toned gold exactly matches the shape of the table-top. Such little tea-tables with inset trays were associated with the traditional Oriental tea ceremony. They appeared in Russia in the early 18th century when tea- and coffee-drinking came into fashion and were reproduced in numbers by Russian craftsmen and foreigners working in the country.