Painted Tibetan Altar Cabinet - Late 19th Century

This exquisitely painted cabinet is from Central Tibet and dates to the late 19th century. We've removed layers of soot and discoloured orange varnish to reveal the beautifully painted scenes underneath. See the final photograph for pre-restoration images. 

Each panel is of precise cultural significance and tells the story of Tibet's rich history:

Top Left: A Mongolian seated figure with a chained angry tiger - Some say this is Güshi Khan (1582 - 1655), ancestor of Ghengis Khan's younger brother. Güshi reunified Tibet in 1641. Some Tibetans protested the Mongol rule and cursed a tiger to kill him. He overcame the curse and tamed it with a chain. He was welcomed by most Tibetans and confirmed by the 5th Dalai Lama as the Dharma King of Tibet. This is a motif found from the 18th century onwards, often in Gelugpa monasteries. It is said to symbolise the supremacy of the yellow-hatted Mongol Gelugpa school over their red hatted rival of the old schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It also represents three Bodhisattvas; Avalokiteshvara, Vajrapani (the chain), & Manjushri (the tiger).

Top Right:  Hvashang - a Chinese monk and a patron of the arhats. Hvashang is depicted as a rotund and joyful man holding mala beads and a fruit sitting alongside a vase filled with flaming jewels. It's been theorised that Hvashang could be Budai, a partially historical Chinese monk who is considered to be the 'Laughing Buddha' or 'Fat Buddha' Maitreya Buddha. Surrounded by eight auspicious symbols of Tibet. 

Bottom Left: Garuda (khyung) the mythical lord of birds. He is the sworn enemy of snakes and nagas, hence the snake in his beak. He is venerated as a guardian of treasures and his fully grown emergence from the egg at birth symbolises the birth of great spontaneous awareness. Garuda bares similarities to the western griffon. 

Bottom Right: A Tibetan snow lion with a green mane and a Chinese lion with an orange mane frolicking together. These mythical beasts could be a metaphor for the reciprocal relationship between the Chinese Qing Empire & Tibet. Many of Tibet's grandest furniture and buildings were sponsored by Imperial China who acted as patrons of their work. 

These cabinets were often used in temples or as family altars & were used to store religious scrolls, silk ceremonial clothes, family jewelry and yak butter used in lamps. Often people would gift painted furniture to temples as offerings.

This style of Tibetan cabinet is mostly seen from the 19th century onwards when the cabinet first became more prominent in Tibet. Prior to this, chests were the most common form of furniture in Tibet. Cabinets like this were constructed from cedar or pine and painted using mineral pigments. They were often used as family altars & were used to store religious scrolls, silk ceremonial clothes, family jewelry, and yak butter used in lamps.

Original antique Tibetan cabinets are now very rare and there were many reproduction pieces made in China in the 1980's coming onto the market. This cabinet has four outward opening doors and is split into a top and bottom compartment separated by a shelf. 

For similar examples see Auspicious by Design: A Collection of Antique Tibetan Painted Furniture by C Corona - Plate 61.

For further information on Tibetan symbolism, see Tibetan Buddhist Symbols by R Beer. 

Dimensions:

86 x 50 x 95 (wxdxh cms)

From Tibet

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