Unknown
Cabinet with Dragonslate 19th century

Not on view

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Cabinet with Dragons
Place Made: Tibet
Date Made: late 19th century
Medium: Wood with mineral pigments, gilding, and gesso; brass fittings
Dimensions: 40 x 39 1/2 x 18 in. (101.6 x 100.33 x 45.72 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Ruth Hayward, Ph.D. and Robert Hayward, M.D., in honor of Michael Govan, LACMA CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director, with appreciation for his informed and inclusive vision of art for the city and people of Los Angeles, through the 2010 Collectors Committee
Accession Number: M.2010.78.11
Classification: Furnishings
Collecting Area: South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes: This cabinet and its mate M.2010.78.12 each display four four-clawed dragons in primarily black paint and gesso set in square panels on the front divided by right-angled molding strips. The undulating tales of the dragons are symmetrically positioned so that the top two dragons alternate with the bottom two dragons. The dragon heads are painted green, red, and white. The background and borders are floating clouds painted in black with gold outline. Both cabinets have a brass locking hasp and a brass fitting in the center of the borders that is probably a support pole for inner shelves. See David Kamansky, ed., Wooden Wonders: Tibetan Furniture in Secular and Religious Life (Pasadena: Pacific Asia Museum and Chicago: Serindia Publications, 2004), pp. 294-295, nos. 115-116.