Page 134 - Bonhams, Asian Art, London, Montpilier St, May 10, 2021

360

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
361 Years of Chinese Textiles’, Urban Council of Hong Kong, 1995,
pp.194-195.
360 TP 361 TP
A PAINTED AND LACQUERED WOOD ‘DRAGON’ STORAGE A SMALL PAINTED WOOD ‘FLORAL’ CABINET
CHEST Tibet, late 19th century
Tibet, 17th/18th century The four frontal inset square panels forming two pairs of doors, each
Decorated to the front with a quatrefoil panel enclosing a writhing decorated with mirrored, sinuous dragons amongst large-headed
dragon holding an offering tray of precious jewels and grasping a peonies and lotuses, the dragon’s scaled picked out in relief, all
flaming pearl amongst dense scrolling peonies, on a floral brocade within raised borders of alternating florettes and shou emblems, all
pattern ground, within cusped foliate corner panels and a floral borer raised on four corner feet. 90cm (35 1/2in) high x 39cm (15 1/4in)
reserved on red ground. 51cm (20.2in) high x 38.5cm (15 1/8in) deep deep x 76cm (30in) wide
x 102.5cm (40 3/8in) wide
£500 - 700
£1,500 - 2,500 HK$5,400 - 7,500
HK$16,000 - 27,000 CNY4,500 - 6,300
CNY14,000 - 23,000

For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
132 | BONHAMS please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.