An English Private Collection of Tibetan Furniture, lots 94 to 111
A painted and lacquered wood 'dragon' storage chest
Tibet, 17th/18th centuryDecorated to the front with a quatrefoil panel enclosing a writhing dragon holding an offering tray of precious jewels and grasping a flaming pearl amongst dense scrolling peonies, on a floral brocade pattern ground, within cusped foliate corner panels and a floral borer reserved on red ground. 51cm (20.2in) high x 38.5cm (15 1/8in) deep x 102.5cm (40 3/8in) wide
注脚
Compare with an almost identical storage chest, possibly the pair, in 'Light of Compassion - Buddhist Art From Nepal and Tibet', Spink & Son Ltd., 1997, p.85, no. 50.As noted by Luca and Camilla Corona (Wooden Wonders: Tibetan Furniture in Secular and Religious Life, Chicago, 2004, p. 48) during the time of stability within Tibet during the rule of the Fifth Dalai Lama (late 17th century) trade and relations with the Manchu rulers of China flourished, 'Gifts flowed in from Mongol and Manchu patrons, and Chinese brocades became the predominant source of inspiration for the design vocabulary of the boxes, which were in turn used to store the same brocades'.For an example of a storage chest mounted with Ming Period brocade panels, see 'Heavens Embroidered Cloths - One Thousand Years of Chinese Textiles', Urban Council of Hong Kong, 1995, pp.194-195.