Unknown
Tea Tablecirca 18th century

Not on view

No image

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Tea Table
Place Made: Tibet
Date Made: circa 18th century
Medium: Wood, mineral pigments, gilding, and gesso; soot patina
Dimensions: 7 x 55 x 6 in. (17.78 x 139.7 x 15.24 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Ruth Hayward, Ph.D. and Robert Hayward, M.D., in honor of Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan people, art and culture, through the 2010 Collectors Committee
Accession Number: M.2010.78.14
Classification: Furnishings
Collecting Area: South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes: This elongated low table (chokchi) was used for tea ceremonies, meditation, prayer, or as small altars for offerings and butter lamps. The painted and gesso (kyungbur) decoration on the front depicts a pair of confronting dragons whose tails undulate across the surface. They are flanking a flaming wish-fulfilling gem on a scrolling plant. See David Kamansky, ed., Wooden Wonders: Tibetan Furniture in Secular and Religious Life (Pasadena: Pacific Asia Museum and Chicago: Serindia Publications, 2004), pp. 228-229, no. 52.