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Collections

Unknown
Altar Table with Dragons and Auspicious Symbols18th-19th century

On view:
Geffen Galleries, Pan-Asian Buddhist Art
Lacquered wood chest with deep burgundy-red ground covered in dense gold carved relief decoration, featuring two confronting dragons flanking a central jewel, scrolling vines, and stylized flowers
Carved and gilded wooden chest with deep red lacquered ground, featuring two confronting dragons flanking a central vessel amid dense scrolling foliage in gold, red, and green; Greek-key border framing the front panel; one open drawer visible at right.
Rectangular wooden chest with deep red lacquer ground and densely carved gilt relief decoration; front panel features two dragons flanking a central motif amid scrolling clouds and foliage, with phoenix figures at the sides; polychrome accents in green, red, and blue throughout; bracket feet and stepped lid with worn lacquer surface.
Lacquered wooden chest with deep red ground and densely carved gilt relief decoration; front panel features two confronting dragons flanking a central medallion amid scrolling clouds, with floral and foliate borders; traces of polychrome pigment throughout.
Carved and gilded wooden panel with deep red background, depicting a phoenix bird amid scrolling foliage, blossoms, and rockery, with polychrome accents in gold and green throughout the densely composed relief.
Gilded wood relief panel with deep red ground, featuring two fish flanking a dharma wheel at center, rising from a pink lotus blossom, with scrolling cloud and wave motifs and a ritual vessel above; finely detailed openwork carving throughout.
Carved and gilded wooden panel with a dragon in high relief at center, scales and claws finely detailed, set against a deep red lacquered background surrounded by swirling clouds, waves, and foliate scrollwork in gold, with a fish visible at left.
Gilt carved wood relief panel with deep red lacquered background, featuring a sinuous dragon in high relief surrounded by clouds, waves, a fish, and flowering branches, with a geometric key-fret border.
Detail of a carved and gilded wooden architectural panel with densely interlaced floral and foliate scrollwork in gold against a red ground, with accents of green and pink; a lower register features a geometric key-fret border.
Polychrome carved wood panel with horizontal registers; center register features a gilt lotus bowl holding rounded fruit forms in red, green, and gold; flanked by scrolling acanthus-like foliage on a vermilion ground; wave and rosette borders above and below.
Detail of a carved and gilded wooden architectural panel with deep red lacquered ground, featuring densely layered relief carvings of scrolling vines, lotus blossoms, and foliage in gold, green, and pink polychrome finish; openwork lattice visible in lower register.
Painted wooden panel with a centrally placed gilt cartouche featuring scrolling acanthus-like wings and a lobed body, set against a worn red ground with flaking and scattered paint losses.
Detail of a red-lacquered wooden surface with a raised double-gourd form flanked by stylized cloud scrolls in dark brown and gold, showing worn and flaking lacquer with visible age cracking.
Artist or Maker
Unknown
Title
Altar Table with Dragons and Auspicious Symbols
Place Made
Tibet
Date Made
18th-19th century
Medium
Wood with mineral pigments and gilding; metal fitting
Dimensions
24 1/4 x 34 3/4 x 17 3/4 in. (61.6 x 88.27 x 45.09 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the 2010 Collectors Committee
Accession Number
M.2010.81.1
Classification
Furnishings
Collecting Area
South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes

The masterpiece of Tibetan furniture made in the 18th or first half of the 19th century was originally meant to be used in front of a lama’s throne in a monastery or perhaps in front of a nobleman’s raised seat in a domestic chapel. The altar table is a tour de force of carving dexterity and sophisticated design. It is made with openwork decoration and painted with ground minerals pigments, predominately gold. The central panel features a pair of spirited Chinese-style dragons dramatically rearing up out of the sea and writhing amidst a lush tableau of flowering tendrils. Their ferocious faces are accentuated by bulging eyes, sharp fangs and streaming manes. In their claws the dragons hold a large pearl, which is the Buddhist magical gem that fulfills all wishes. The dragons flank and pay homage to a large treasure vase, one of the Eight Buddhist Auspicious Symbols that represents infinite riches. The shape of the vase is formed by an ingenious arrangement of the remaining seven Auspicious Symbols, including most noticeably the pair of golden fish and the wheel of the law (dharma chakra). The sides of the table each feature of phoenix amidst foliage. The proper left side pulls out to reveal a long storage drawer. The top board is painted with bats and other symbols of fortune, prosperity, and happiness. Such exceptionally sophisticated carving may represent the craftsmanship or influence of Newar artists from Nepal, where a highly developed tradition of woodcarving flourished.

See David Kamansky, ed., Wooden Wonders: Tibetan Furniture in Secular and Religious Life (Pasadena: Pacific Asia Museum and Chicago: Serindia Publications, 2004), pp. 220-221, no. 45.